


Saviors of Skelevar

by SeraphOfTheGay



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: AU, Angst, Clans, Elements, Fantasy, Fantasy AU, M/M, My Own Universe, Skelevar, country, lands - Freeform, powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2018-07-14 17:54:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 35,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7184159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeraphOfTheGay/pseuds/SeraphOfTheGay
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The country of Skelevar used to be a glorious, rich, and life-filled land. All of its citizens lived harmoniously amongst one another and problems rarely occurred. Everyone abided by the rules; nobody spoke out of term, strayed away from the right morals, or questioned the method of ruling. Everything was at peace until the infamous day known as The Feast.</p><p>It started off with a tragic accident which was actually no accident at all. The man responsible sent the whole country into chaos on his very first council meeting. He released creatures to aid in his conquest, defeating all armies and leaving the country with no defense. Now the monsters roam the streets of every sector, killing any survivors they see. No matter who it is.</p><p>Join the Saviors of Skelevar, six warriors banded together in hopes to return Skelevar back to the peaceful country it once was. While on their journey, they realize that not everything is how they always thought it was. Soon, they discover that to truly survive and live in this world, they must sacrifice, betray, and risk their lives. Because sometimes, underneath the gold and flowers and sunshine, there's a black hole hidden with dark secrets, ones that could change your life forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I'm really invested in this AU, so I'll try to update when I can, but I'm like super serious about this whole plot and everything and the chapters will be long, so it will take time to write! I'm excited to be sharing this idea with you all and I hope you enjoy!!

The country of Skelevar used to be a glorious, rich, and life-filled land. All of its citizens lived harmoniously amongst one another and problems rarely occurred. The government, known as the Council of Six, was absolutely flawless. Ruled by six men and women symbolizing each power of the land, it stood almighty and fortified. Everyone abided by the rules; nobody spoke out of term, strayed away from the right morals, or questioned the method of ruling. 

Skelevar was divided into six different clans, each one representing the six powers of the land. These clans were known as Aquadia, Avalonia, Féora, Incindion, Auralin, and Tenebrarum. Each one held its own perspective and values on the way of life and possessed unique, immense powers. 

Aquadia was the Land of Water. It was home to those with a spirit of determination. Here, people learned to be healers and seek justice. The strong-willed ones were taught the art of combat. Children raised in Aquadia specialized in the ability to bend water to their will and were taught to think of it as an extension of their body. This skill wasn’t used as a weapon or resource, but it definitely could be used for more reasons than one. Aquadians generally became in touch with spirits and were always well-planned people. 

Avalonia was the Land of Light. Those sent here possessed spirits of compassion and a longing for knowledge. Citizens of Avalonia were taught how to be guides for others and create light when there was none. Because of their drive for learning, they were the most knowledgeable of the clans — they learned and knew every language in the universe and were always on the top of new discoveries and information. They were Skelevar’s main source of information and had the largest, most extensive libraries in the world. Avalonians wielded the power of light along with all of its aspects, and when their power fused with that of the Aquadians, a portal to the spirit world could be opened. 

Féora was the Mountain of Nature. People here had a spirit of wisdom. They possessed the vast powers of earth and nature — they could speak with the earth, create medicine out of any plant, and some even had the ability to see the future. Others possessed the skill to bend the shape of the earth; these people became paladins for the Council because of their ability to protect. However, those who didn’t wish to fight or assist the Council worked in labs and greenhouses where medicines were harvested from herbs and various plants to be used around the country. People here could use any power relating to the earth, making them have an advantage wherever they went.

Incindion was the Valley of Flames. Incindions were strong-spirited individuals. Their sole purpose in life was to fight. Every battle strategy, way of fighting, and method of killing ever known to the world became stored in their mind and memory. Many Incindions were brought to the Council to be their guards due to their striking strength and relentlessness. People here sought victories, but nothing more than that. Although many chose to work and train alone, some banded together and formed strong teams. Every month, they displayed their great skills in matches, which provided entertainment for the rest of their sector. Incindions had the power of fire and plasma and were easily angered. 

Auralin was the Kingdom of the Sky. Auralins were free-spirited. They usually became messengers and were taught to be in balance with their physical and mental states. It was rare to see them angry or upset or feel any negative or excessive emotions at all. Auralins worked tirelessly on their agility and speed which would be very beneficial in traveling across the different sectors or clans to deliver messages quickly and efficiently. Auralins possessed the power of air and could control the weather for the entire country. 

Finally, there was Tenebrarum, otherwise known as The Dark Vortex. People here had the power of darkness, and their spirits were malicious and immoral. Tenebrarum was not an ordinary sector like the others; it was a hole of darkness. Anyone tested with a malcontent nature was thrown into the void and banished into a portal to a place where they could not disturb the rest of Skelevar. Because of their isolation to the rest of the country, not much was known about them. 

Once a baby was born, it would be brought to a spiritual embodiment known as the Spirit Seeker to determine which sector he or she would be sent to, and this was usually determined by the color of the baby’s eyes. The eyes of the child usually never matched the ones of the parents; they were colored based off of their natural, inborn element, and that varied among each one. The baby’s birth parents did not get to keep their child because as soon as it was born, it became the property of the Council. Wherever the child was sent, they would grow up learning how to wield unique powers and follow the sector’s way of life. 

Skelevar had always remained peaceful and beautiful. With the way everything flowed so smoothly, people never even _imagined_ anything could go wrong. However, keeping that mindset rapidly came to be the biggest mistake. Because on one fateful day, the entire country was thrown into chaos and destruction, and the serenity it once held faded away into a distant memory, never to be seen again. 


	2. Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excerpts of little messages the surviving five leave behind before they set out on their own, taking place right after the events of The Feast.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna upload this now so you have more to read and look forward to!

The sky turned dark, the water became blood, and the trees faded into the rotting ground that once used to be the plentiful earth. It’s a been a while since anyone, well, if there’s anyone left at all, has been able to sleep peacefully at night. With the malva monsters wandering the scream-filled but now desolate streets, I wonder if anyone can actually sleep at all. They have taken over this land, these dreaded creatures, and they keep gaining more strength. Yet…it doesn’t seem like their own power. It’s probably _their_ doing. Those bastards have taken control of the whole world and continue spreading their disgusting chaos. So many allies have fallen; I am alone. 

— Oikawa Tooru; Diary Excerpt #601

 

Alone is a mindset. You only believe you’re alone when really there are so many others who believe the same. Honestly, you’re never truly alone. When I was “alone” I used to sit by a fire in the woods, staring into the flames, believing that the world was lost, and that the resistance was dead. It made me wonder how people can feel this concept of being alone when they are surrounded by many people, but now I doubt even my own judgement. It’s not the same anymore. 

— Kuroo Tetsurou; Letter to be Buried Deep in the Earth

 

It seems feeling lost and devoid of hope is all I ever feel now. Funny, I’m not very used to this feeling…it’s very foreign. The deaths of my family and friends, along with all I’ve ever known, has sucked out all life that was inside of me. I’m nothing more than an empty shell with no sense of who I am. When the malva monsters destroyed my home, my land, everything was taken away from me — everything but one photo. I keep it hidden in case those stupid monsters decide to attack again. This drawing is the only thing that reminds me of what the world once was…and maybe even what it could be. But…with the unexpected turn that life has taken…I’m afraid to hope and dream of a better future. My dear friend once told me that hope is fear’s worst enemy, but is it enough to change the world?

— Bokuto Koutarou; Telegram to the Winds

 

Hope. The one thing left in me, the one thing that hasn’t been taken. The perfect world I used to live in is now gone. There’s nothing left. I’ve never cried before, never needed to, but now I find myself struggling to hold back these goddamn tears. Everything and everyone I ever cared about don’t exist anymore. They’re lost. Forever. Holding onto my last memory of the past is all I can do to retain this feeling of hope. I have to keep it together. I can’t lose this hope. Because if I do, I won’t be anything anymore.

— Terushima Yuuji; A Speech to the Stars

 

The world is already dead. I have no one. They killed everybody; my family, my friends, all gone. There is absolutely no way to heal this world or my heart. Both of those had died long ago. Everything was taken from me, everything except my will. Looking at it now, I have to stay strong. I cannot let them win. I _won’t_ let them win.

— Kageyama Tobio; A Message Written in the Sword


	3. Oikawa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See how the fateful day unfolds from Oikawa's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay i finally got around to posting this, i actually finished it a couple of days ago but i was being a picky lil cactus and proofread it over and over to make sure everything made sense bc i am so invested save me from this au omg

Aquadia once held the most beauty in all the lands. The fresh air, crystal-clear bodies of water, and bright skies were what the people woke up to every morning. It was the center of glory and serenity in all of Skelevar. It used to be Oikawa’s home. 

When all of that beauty still existed, Oikawa enjoyed every second, every moment, and was able to live a happy life. With its current state, however, he didn’t wish to be part of this world anymore. He wanted to disappear like a wisp of smoke, fading away into the clouds without feeling remorse. Looking at it now, it’s almost hard to believe that there was a time where everything was bright, beautiful, and happy. A time before _it_ happened.

**

Oikawa Tooru was the son of Zale Atkins and Araxie Kellda, also known as the clan leaders of Aquadia. His parents weren’t actually his real, birth parents, though. They adopted him when he was sent by the Spirit Seeker. His father was a tall, grand man with light brown — almost blond — hair paired with glowing blue eyes as deep as the ocean. Framed with broad shoulders and strong arms, he was one of the most powerful people in Skelevar. His mother had long, flowing brown hair like a waterfall of chocolate and hypnotic eyes of turquoise. She had flawless skin, hands as gentle as clouds, and a smile as radiant as the sun. 

Oikawa had many friends from all over Skelevar because he would often accompany his father to monthly meetings with other clan leaders held in various sectors. It was rare for people of different clans to associate with one another aside from the clan leaders; Oikawa never knew why — well _maybe_ he had an idea, but nonetheless, he befriended quite a few people outside of his own hometown. One of his friends, Endon, was an Avalonian. They had run into each other when they were both ten years old — when it was Oikawa’s first time in Avalonia — on one of the sparkling streets of the city. It was quite a hectic meeting: as soon as they literally crashed into each other, a bunch of guards ran towards them and scurried Endon back into his castle all while scolding him for running away. Oikawa was intrigued by this boy and followed suit undercover. Once the guards had left him alone, he emerged from the bushes and properly introduced himself. Oikawa found out that Endon was the son of the two clan leaders of Avalonia, and the two bonded quickly due to their similar social standing. They began visiting each other nearly every week once Oikawa was old enough to travel on his own. Thus, their friendship was born. 

Because of his familial standing and unique determination, Oikawa was chosen among very little people to go to the noblest school in Aquadia. There, he learned the art of healing and using water as an extension of his body. He was also taught the art of fighting along with the proper usage of defensive skills of which he believed to be useless at the time. Oikawa was not a genius, but he had very high skills and abilities that he gained through nurtured talent. He excelled in every aspect of his education and maintained his family’s good name. 

Oikawa was supposed to graduate that year and move on to working for the Council or becoming a leader of one of Skelevar’s armies. He planned to set out to find his identity in the world, fulfill his lifelong wishes, and explore all the things he was never able to see before. However, on the day of his seventeenth birthday, everything changed. The day of The Feast is one that Oikawa, and everyone else, will never forget.

*******

_July 20th, X987_

 

Oikawa and his family, along with the rest of their clan members, were just arriving at the meeting hall in Féora where The Feast would take place. It was a rather long journey; they had to pass through the vast land of Avalonia first. Oikawa thought he could bring Endon along to accompany him on the trip, but he found out that he and his family had already departed. 

Once the carriage they were in arrived at the tall, bronze gate, Oikawa hopped out and fixed his outfit, smoothing out any folded edges and removing stray dust. He felt exhausted and his eyes hurt from being exposed to sunlight after being cooped up in a dark carriage for the past two and a half hours, but he remained excited to finally and officially be able to meet everyone from all the clans. It was the first time they were all coming together like this. Not to mention, it was also his birthday. 

His family was greeted by the clan leaders of Féora, Borak Levinson and Adamine Lawrence. Oikawa smiled at them and shook their hands very mannerly. After all, he had to impress the parents of his crush, didn’t he? His gaze shifted from the Féorian clan leaders to the teenage boy standing a few feet away from him. When his eyes locked onto him, he let out an elongated sigh. _God, why does he have to be so hot,_ Oikawa thought, admiring his muscular frame and beautiful emerald eyes. He was wearing the most elegant robe: one of a lush forest-green color that extended beyond his body. He was currently admiring some flowers in a vase, not paying attention to anything else around him. As Oikawa gawked at him, someone bumped into his shoulder, causing him to splutter.

“G-Gah! I wasn’t staring at the prince, I swear!” Oikawa blurt out, startled. He turned around to face the person who now stood beside him, his expression relaxing when he realized who it was. “Oh, Endon, it’s you!” 

“The one and only. How’s it goin', Tooru?” he greeted with a bright smile, showing off perfect teeth. Oikawa smiled in return, giving him a small wave. Endon turned to greet the clan leaders as well before returning his attention to Oikawa. “Happy Birthday, by the way!” He pulled out a small gift box from his satchel and handed it to him before enveloping him in a hug. 

Oikawa’s smile grew as he returned the gesture. “You know you didn’t have to, but I’m honored.” He glanced back at his parents for a second, who were now conversing with Endon’s parents. Oikawa released a relieved sigh. 

“Of course I had to. You’re my best friend after all,” Endon said in response, throwing an arm around Oikawa’s shoulder once they pulled back from the hug. He looked in front of him, spotting the son of the clan leaders of Féora, also known as the land’s prince. He turned back to Oikawa and caught him sneaking a glance at the prince every so often. He wasn’t very good at hiding it. “You weren’t staring at Iwaizumi again, were you?”

“W-what?!” Oikawa started, fumbling around. “Of course not…I just…uh…”

“Nothin’ to be embarrassed about, y’know? He has some pretty nice arms. And that body too, hot _damn_.”

Oikawa blinked. “Wait, you’re…?”

“Not really,” Endon said, knowing what he was about to ask, “but damn, just look at those arms. Anyone would go gay for those.”

Oikawa chuckled. “You’re not wrong.” Then he paused, eyes widening. “Hold on, you’re not gonna try to steal him from me, are you?!”

Now it was Endon’s turn to laugh. “Of course not! He’s all yours. I think you two make a great match.”

Oikawa began blushing and stuttering all over again, but was interrupted when his and Endon’s parents escorted them to the main hall. Oikawa snuck one last peek at Iwaizumi before entering the building. When they walked in, the two boys noticed a petite woman about five feet tall at most. Short brown hair neatly set in delicate curls fell over her shoulders, and her light green eyes looked tired. She seemed worn with her nimble, slightly bruised hands, and it appeared to be evident that she was the one responsible for decorating the entire place. However, she still seemed bright and energetic, so unless she was some mythical god with endless stamina (considering the size of Féora’s meeting hall), she must’ve had a helper.

As Oikawa and Endon continued walking, they were immediately captivated by the beauty of the Féorian castle. It wasn’t their first time there, but the last time the two had visited was when they were only eleven. The interior of the castle was lined with crystals against each wall and corridor and contained columns of pure copper. Large arches sat between each stone pillar, giving the room a more ancient look. The castle itself appeared to glow without any extra lighting; the only light came from the reflection of the torches fitted against iron studs protruding from the walls. It was truly a magnificent sight. 

The two of them stopped at a window, taking in the view of the scenery displayed before their eyes. The Grand Féorian Mountain stood before them, exposing its surreal nature. Animals of all sorts roamed on its surface and enchanting birds circled around it, giving off the feel of a nature-ruling world. As Oikawa admired how beautiful the mountain looked, a flashback entered his mind. He remembered the last time he was here, which was about six years ago, where two guys had tripped him on top of the mountain, causing him to fall into the stream below. He could vaguely remember what they looked like. He could’ve sworn one of them was Iwaizumi, but there was someone else with him, someone with a similar hairstyle but a little messier, longer, and darker. He didn’t recognize him, but he sure did recognize Iwaizumi. That was actually when he started falling for him — literally. 

“Hey, your prince charming is coming this way,” Endon whispered into Oikawa’s ear, pulling him out of his thoughts. 

Oikawa stood up straight from where he was arched over on the windowsill so quickly that he nearly hit Endon in the head. He hurriedly fixed his hair and adjusted the collar of his suit before turning around and clearing his throat. The pleasant sight of Iwaizumi walking down the hallway entered his line of vision, and Oikawa thanked every God in the universe to be experiencing this moment.

For a second, Oikawa thought Iwaizumi would simply nod a greeting to him at most and then pass by, but to his surprise, he stopped right in front of him. Oikawa felt his heart rate pick up rapidly. He swallowed the lump in his throat as his mouth opened to speak, but Iwaizumi said something first.

“I’ve come to escort you to your chambers,” Iwaizumi stated. “Follow me, Prince of Aquadia.”

Oikawa blinked twice and exchanged a glance with Endon, who urged him to go along. He whispered something in Oikawa’s ear before he left, making his whole face go as red as the velvet curtains hanging from the window. Oikawa scurried after Iwaizumi like a lost rat, following him all the way into the back hallway where all the rooms were located. He got the first room on the left and was astonished by the interior of it.

“You’ll be staying here for the next few days. Get comfortable,” Iwaizumi said. Despite the noble front he was upholding, Oikawa could tell he was a bit nervous. That sent a spark of energy throughout him, causing him to shiver in pleasure. 

“Th-thank you,” Oikawa breathed out, setting his bags down. 

“No problem…” Iwaizumi replied, averting his eyes downward. 

A comfortable silence settled in between them but was soon interrupted when Oikawa spoke again.

“Um…I’m okay now, so you can go if you need to,” he said, before mentally slapping himself for sounding so stupid as well as rude. What was he thinking?

“Right, sorry,” Iwaizumi apologized, rubbing the back of his head. He glanced up at Oikawa before heading to the door, but when he looked at him, he was unable to look away. 

“No, _I’m_ sorry! I didn’t mean to sound r…” Oikawa trailed off when Iwaizumi looked at him, an array of thoughts jumbling around in his mind.

Suddenly, in that moment, their eyes finally met and locked in place. It was the first time they looked directly into each other’s eyes, and the two of them could’ve sworn that something had come to mind in that very moment. Almost like a memory or flashback, but it was too unclear to make sense of. Or maybe it was just their imagination. 

“D-Did you feel that?” Oikawa asked once he pulled away from Iwaizumi’s gaze. 

“Yeah…what was that?” Iwaizumi wondered, blinking in confusion. “Weird.” He took a good look at Oikawa, who was fumbling around and twiddling his thumbs nervously. “Hey,” he began, locking eyes with him again. “Can I ask you something?”

“What is it?” Oikawa asked, raking his fingers through his hair shakily. 

“Why are your eyes brown?”

“H…huh?”

“Well, you’re the Prince of Aquadia. All Aquadians have blue eyes, right? Why are yours brown?”

“Oh, um…” Oikawa pressed his lips together, his mouth forming a thin line. He didn’t really know how to answer, hell he didn’t even know if he _could_ answer that question. His parents didn’t exactly say he had to keep this fact a secret, but they did tell him not to talk about it. Oikawa, for some odd reason, felt as though he could trust Iwaizumi. He just gave off that vibe. It was funny, because it took a lot for Oikawa to trust others completely and to let them know of his personal secrets, but with Iwaizumi, it was as if there was a big ‘it’s okay’ sign waving in his face, urging him to go on. He cleared his throat, wiping sweat off his palms. “It’s because…I was born different from everyone else.”

“No shit, sherlock,” Iwaizumi grunted, making Oikawa blush in embarrassment. “How, though? Wouldn’t the Spirit Seeker have sent you to Incindion, the Valley of Flames? That’s where people with brown eyes go.”

Oikawa stepped back, nearly tripping over his own feet. He seriously needed to get himself together. What kind of prince lost his composure so easily? “Yes, but…my parents told me that I had the heart and soul of a water bearer and so the Spirit Seeker sent me to Aquadia instead. I feel more comfortable around water and all, but it sucks being watched almost all the time…”

“Huh,” was all Iwaizumi said, his eyebrows pulling together. “Wait, what do you mean by watched?”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Since I’m a ‘special’ one, I have to be under constant supervision. Sometimes I sneak out, but most of the time I’m watched like a hawk. It’s freaky.” Oikawa shifted back and forth, unable to meet Iwaizumi’s eyes. 

“That must suck. Although you do look like an annoying troublemaker, I doubt you’d do anything that bad.”

“Hey!” Oikawa exclaimed, slightly offended. He was still blushing, he noticed, when he caught his reflection in the nearby mirror. The sunlight streaming in through the window reflected off the glass and shone on his face, blinding him for a mere moment. 

“So, uh, do you always make that weird expression when you’re around other people or am I special case?” Iwaizumi brought up, gesturing at his scrunched up features.

Oikawa blinked twice, moving away from the line of the mirror. He cleared his throat, wiping sweat from his forehead. “My expressions are always pure and enchanting, and they attract a lot of dashing people, you know.”

“Dashing as in running away?” Iwaizumi teased, a smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

“So mean!” Oikawa found himself shouting. His youth washed over him, making him feel ten years younger. He’d never felt more alive.

A brief silence passed in that moment. Oikawa was about to say something, but Iwaizumi excused himself and apologized for staying too long. Oikawa told him it was fine, and wanted to say he enjoyed his company, and that he could stay as long as he needed to, but couldn’t bring himself to do so. 

Before Iwaizumi left the room, he turned around one more time and said, “I never got your name.”

Oikawa smiled. “It’s Oikawa. Oikawa Tooru.”

“Iwaizumi Hajime,” Iwaizumi said after, and Oikawa thought with a smile, _I know._ “Oh, and also,” he continued, catching Oikawa’s attention, “Happy Birthday.”

Oikawa’s eyes widened, and suddenly he felt his heart beating a mile a minute, wondering how in the world Iwaizumi could’ve possibly known about his birthday. He looked up at him, brown eyes glimmering with joy. Iwaizumi simply huffed in response and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Oikawa could’ve sworn he saw a smile on his face, though. Maybe his birthday was going to be more interesting than he thought. 

~☆~

The Feast was set to last about a day to a day and half; no more and no less. Oikawa, after fixing himself up, realized that some people still hadn't shown up yet, so there was still time to spare before the event began. He slipped out of his room, slinking into the hallway like a stray cat. With nothing but the intention to explore the castle in his mind, he walked around, checking out the crystals embedded in the thick carpeted walls, the strong marble columns, and the splendidly crafted arches surrounding him. Oikawa was very intrigued by the castle as a whole and wanted to learn more about its history. After all, if The Feast was being held here of all places, there had to be something special about it, right? He remembered there being a library somewhere; he could’ve sworn he saw one on his way here. Oikawa followed his instinct down a couple of blocks from the castle, coming across a large building crafted entirely out of wood and bent trees. The word ‘Library’ was carved into a plank of wood nailed to what appeared to be the entrance. Oikawa smiled, placing a hand on his hip in satisfaction. 

He entered the building slowly, trying not to draw too much attention. If anyone recognized him and reported his whereabouts to his father, the consequences wouldn’t be pretty. This was his one chance to escape his parents, to be free, so he wasn’t going to miss it. 

As he roamed the vast aisles of bookshelves filled with books from around the realm, he caught sight of the lady he saw earlier — the short one who was responsible for decorating the entire meeting hall. Oikawa flinched, but gave her a quick, warm smile before continuing down the non-fiction aisle. He scanned through the titles, admiring all the different covers. There was one with a picture of a castle, another with flowers, and even one with some odd-looking creature. Oikawa wondered why that wasn’t in the fantasy section, but got distracted when a particular book stood out to him. It seemed to glow in a way as if it were calling out to him. It was buried deep in the shelves, probably crammed there by some lazy worker. Oikawa had to hoist himself up with a stool in order to reach it. 

Once he got a hold of the book, he realized that he’d ended up in the deep, back end of the library where nobody else was. Well, everyone was currently at The Feast of course, but if there were people in the library, he doubted they’d be where he was now. Oikawa held the book close to him and sunk down into a worn-out couch perched against the far back wall, settling in and opening the book on his lap.

To be frank, the book didn’t have the information he was looking for, but rather something else entirely. It told the story of how Skelevar was created, how it didn’t start off as a peaceful place. There were many wars and a lot of bloodshed, but as Oikawa learned at his academy, that was centuries ago. Skelevar has had nothing but peace for ages now, so it wasn’t likely for anything bad to happen anytime soon. 

As he skimmed through the rest of the book, he came across a page with information that he didn’t remember learning in his history class. The chapter was titled _Dual Wielders_ , but before he could read about it, the loud _clang!_ of a gong sounded throughout the room, catching his attention. Oikawa didn’t know what it was for at first, but when he saw the petite lady rush out the door and towards the meeting hall, he assumed it to be the starting call of The Feast. It was time. 

Oikawa dropped the book in his rush and stormed towards the door. As he was leaving, he could’ve sworn he heard mumbling coming from behind a bookshelf and seen some sort of purplish light. It was hard to understand what the person was saying, but it sounded something like, _“It is done. He shall be asleep soon enough.”_ Oikawa wondered what kind of parent would want to put their child to bed at an hour like this, but he ignored the fact with the pure intent of making it to the meeting hall in time. He raced towards the ginormous building past the gates and spotted his parents, whom he joined as they entered the main hall.

“Where have you been?” scolded his father, carrying a stern expression on his face when Oikawa appeared at his side. “You were about to be late.”

“Just doing some reading, that’s all,” Oikawa replied truthfully, rubbing the back of his head. That earned him a frown from his father. 

Araxie shook her head at her husband and finger-combed Oikawa’s chocolate brown hair, then adjusted his collar to make sure he looked nice. She gave him a warm smile, placing a kiss on the top of his head. Oikawa reciprocated a soft smile to show his gratitude and then walked over to the seating area. 

The three of them took their respective seats, with Zale throwing a few distasteful glances in Oikawa’s direction. Oikawa had no idea why his father was so upset about the concept of being late when he wasn’t actually, physically late. 

“Zale, dear, give the boy a break. Today is his birthday, and he wasn’t late now was he?” Araxie said softly, catching onto his actions. 

Zale frowned but immediately resigned, unable to resist his wife’s words. “You’re right. I’ll let it go just this once.” He glanced at Oikawa with a serious glint in his eyes. “But remember, son, we are the noblest family in our clan. Imagine what people would think if we arrived late.”

“Yeah, sorry, Father,” Oikawa apologized, letting out a sigh. Sometimes his dad really was a pain in the neck. Perfection was a hard thing to attain, and it bothered him how expectant his father was about it.  

“Zale,” Araxie said calmly, although it was evident she raised her tone.

His father piped down promptly, turning away with a pout. Oikawa never ceased to be amazed at how quickly his mother could shut down his stubborn father. 

He gave his mom a thumbs up for saving him a lecture before facing forward, watching as Borak made a speech about etiquette and such that was initially supposed to be short but ended up crossing the mark of thirty minutes. When he was done talking, the other clan leaders went up, including Oikawa’s father, and each gave their own speeches about things Oikawa didn’t even find relevant or interesting. This continued on until all six of the councilmen and councilwomen went as well. Finally, after the last councilman spoke, everyone’s eyes were fervor with hunger. 

Borak finished with a closing statement saying, “We’ll explain the new rules and such once we’ve eaten,” and then dismissed everyone for food, receiving pleasant cheers from the audience. 

Everyone stampeded like a herd of bulls to the food area, downing all assortments of dishes and drinks. Oikawa would’ve liked to have a bite to eat and even wanted to go find Endon to talk to him about his conversation with Iwaizumi, but something more important fixated in his mind. He was curious about the book he found just before the speeches began and wanted to do nothing more than go back to get it. 

After checking to make sure his parents were distracted, he raced to the library and returned to the same spot he was at, detecting the book hidden underneath a low shelf. He pried it out and settled into the couch, flipping to the page he left off on. However, as he flipped through the book, he noticed that some pages were missing. He wondered if they were gone when he first got a hold of the book, but judging from the way they were torn, it didn’t look like it was too recent. He shrugged it off and signed a form that allowed him to borrow the book for the day before returning to his room in the castle. He wanted a more private place to read; once everyone was released to eat, some had chosen to eat in the library, filling the empty silence with loud chatter. 

Oikawa sat down on his bed after shutting the door, holding the book to his face. He went through it once again, checking each and every page over and over until he came across an image that seemed very familiar. It was titled “Union Crystal” which was a crystal that his father once told him about. He didn’t remember much of it, just that he had seen it somewhere, but where…

It hit him like an off-course baseball. Oikawa recognized the crystal as one he saw in his own home: the Aquadian clan castle. It was placed in a room that Zale guarded twenty four-seven. He was able to sneak in there once as a child when his father was off on break. The inside of the room was completely white and made of the purest stone. The crystal itself was stored in the very center: a magnificent gem of multiple colors that shifted its hues when looked at from different angles. It possessed smooth edges and fine tips, but it wasn’t too big at all. It was probably small enough to be a pendant, but big enough to be noticed. Oikawa never knew what it was or what it did. He had always wondered why his father spent so many hours having people guard the place when it was just an ordinary crystal with nothing unique about it but its beauty. He always thought it was a special stone he received from his mother, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

He would find out the real reason why soon enough.

As Oikawa refocused on the book sprawled out in front of him, he heard a loud, ear-piercing scream, causing him to jolt upright and fall off the bed. His eyes widened in shock as he stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulders, wondering what the hell just happened. _Did someone spill hot soup on themselves or something?_

Oikawa shoved the book into his bag and ran out into the meeting hall. When he got there, everyone seemed to be in panic. _Must’ve been a pretty bad dish,_ he thought to himself. Oikawa tried to follow everyone’s gazes to figure out what was going on; after his eyes flickered across the room, he finally saw what they were looking at. When he caught sight of it, his jaw dropped to the ground. Up on the stage in front of him was a pool of thick blood, and on top of it lay a corpse covered in a dark purple robe. Everyone began screaming, and Oikawa was horrified. He’d never seen so much blood at once his whole life; just the sight of it made him sick to the stomach. He was glad he didn’t eat anything, because if he did, it’d probably be thrown up on the floor right about now.

He was about to ask the nearest person what was going on when someone yelled, _“The One is dead! The councilman of Tenebrarum has been killed!”_ Oikawa watched in horror as The One’s apprentice, a man known as Hatredes, stood up on the podium, holding out a vial of black liquid. 

“I have poisoned your beloved One,” he announced, holding the vial up high. His voice was as poisonous as the liquid in the vial. Gasps emerged from every corner, making his grin grow wider. “Now, I am the new One! Bow down before me!” 

Hatredes’s face was hidden beneath a delicately crafted mask, but his painstakingly purple eyes pierced through the two holes, sending a chill down Oikawa’s spine. All he wanted to do now was be with his parents and have them assure him that everything would be okay, that this was all just some show.

Terrified chatter echoed around the room. Some people stood there in fear, afraid that taking another step would get them killed, while others tried to make a break for it. Their evacuations, or at least their poor attempts at them, were very disorganized as they had no experience with these types of situations. Oikawa tried hard not to panic as sweat trickled down his temples, his hands trembling. _Why is this happening? Skelevar’s been at peace for as long as I can remember; this is unbelievable! Is this some kind of sick joke?_

“I knew this was a mistake!” the representative of Incindion yelled. “You filthy clan leaders should’ve listened to the Council, bringing everyone together like this was digging our own grave!” 

“That’s what you’re concerned about?” fired the councilman of Féora. “After this, how will we find another sane person from Tenebrarum?! The One was the only person who wasn’t crazy like the rest…!”

“This isn’t the time for meaningless chatter,” said the Aquadian councilwoman. “We must do something, now!” 

“Please remain calm. We’ve always been negotiable in the past, do not let anger consume you,” urged the councilwoman of Auralin.

“What she said. You guys need to stop arguing and think of a plan,” the representative of Avalonia agreed. “None of us were expecting this to happen, we wouldn’t have even imagined it to, but what’s done is done. We deal with the present as it is now.”

As the Council of Six bickered, Oikawa’s mind went back to the book. He scolded himself for thinking about reading at such a serious time like this, when suddenly, realization hit him like a wave. He remembered the mumbling he heard from the library… but what—

Oikawa couldn’t even finish his trail of thought. Before he could even say ‘Aquadia,’ Hatredes extended his arms in an upward motion. Nobody knew what he was doing at first, but then someone pointed out a slimy ball of gunk crawling out of the ground. Soon, multiple gunk balls emerged from the earth, taking form into the ugliest and most horrifying beasts Oikawa had ever seen. They were as black as midnight, wielding teeth as sharp and pointy as blades, blood-red eyes, and stretched, distorted features. They were branded with a strange symbol on their foreheads and saliva dribbled down their deformed chins. Just looking at one of those things could give anyone nightmares for at least two months. 

It was all happening so fast. Oikawa froze when he saw the monsters spit their sticky, green saliva everywhere, binding and trapping many of the servants and citizens to the walls. Féora’s army and defense team consisting of guards and warriors piled into the main hall to fight them off, but to no avail — they were easily slain and had their heads ripped off, mixing in with the rest of the scattered organs strewn across the once beautiful linoleum floor. Nobody, not even the army, was experienced in battle, so failure was inevitable. 

Oikawa realized in the split second that a monster eyed him that he recognized the monsters from the cover of one of the books he passed by in the library. Without thinking, he bolted towards the nearest exit and out the door. His father’s words echoed in his mind as he ran: _“To defeat your enemy, you must first know your enemy.”_ He needed answers. _Now._

Panting and nearly out of breath, he stumbled upon the fourth row of shelves in the far back section of the library. His eyes wandered across the covers so quickly he thought he might pass out. He finally spotted it and yanked it off the shelf, causing a few bordering books to tumble to the floor. He ripped the book open and read it as fast as he could. Some part of him refused to believe that all of what was happening was real, but he couldn’t resist the fact that it undeniably was. 

After reading over the analysis, he discovered that the creatures were called the _malva,_ monsters who were born in The Dark Vortex. The book said that they usually pursued their prey by first immobilizing them with their saliva, no matter who it was, and then finishing them off by slowly ripping them to shreds while devouring each part of them individually. It took a lot of effort for Oikawa to not puke at the grotesque images. 

Oikawa tried to find a page or a letter, anything that would tell him how to stop them, but the entirety of the second half of the book was missing as if someone deliberately didn’t want anyone to spoil their plans. He wondered if this was planned for some time now, and just the thought frightened him. Just what kind of things were people doing behind their backs? He wanted to get more answers, but time was running out. Okay, so now he knew _what_ the monsters were capable of. The question left to be answered was _how_ he would stop them. How do you stop monsters ten times your size in the first place? 

Maybe his father could be of assistance. Oikawa almost forgot about his parents; he really hoped they were doing okay. Heart pounding in his chest, he made a beeline towards the meeting hall. He was tired of pacing back and forth from the library to the castle, but he had to let that go. He had to do whatever he could to make it out of this alive, and how much he had been running was the least of his worries. 

When he arrived back at the location of The Feast, the malva monsters were still devouring more and more people. Oikawa had to cover his nose with a handkerchief to block out the putrid smell emanating from everywhere. His eyes scanned the area, but he couldn’t locate any live bodies. He began trembling. _Where is everyone else? Where are Mother and Father?_

His heart was in his throat as he tried to search the scattered heads to confirm his parents weren’t among the dead. When he glanced up, a malva monster shot a look in his direction, causing him to freeze in place. It sniffed the air in front of it, making his knees buckle. However, despite the way he felt, he scurried over to a column and hid behind it, remaining out of sight. He pressed his back against it pretty hard, trying to breathe normally. He nearly had a heart attack when a hand landed on his shoulder, causing him to let out a scream.

“Shh! It’s me, son!” Zale Atkins hushed, pressing a finger to his lips. 

Oikawa had never been more relieved in his life. He tackled his father in a hug, letting the tears he held back flow down his red cheeks. “Father…thank goodness you’re alive! What’s happening?” His vision was too blurred from tears to notice the scars etched into Zale’s skin. 

“I’m afraid things have become very… dire, Tooru,” his father explained in a serious tone. “Even if we make it out of here alive, I doubt anything will be the same.”

“But why…why now of all times?” Oikawa wondered, gripping his father’s arm like he did when he was a child. He soon came to realize how perplexing his father’s reaction was, along with the reactions of the members of the Council. 

“I’m not sure, but I have a theory. When us clan leaders and the Council of Six met a few months ago, we discussed this plan for a feast, a social gathering of every clan in Skelevar. We were going to talk about new plans and such, so instead of having the Auralins travel to every clan to deliver messages, we figured gathering everyone here would be easier.”

“What about people of opposite elements not being able to—"

Zale cut him off, a twinge of urgency in his voice. “I know. But there was no other available choice. Changes needed to be made fast, and we assumed that everyone had already known about _that_.”

Before Oikawa could respond, the excruciating howl of the malva monsters pierced through the air, making him jolt. His father responded quickly; he threw his sword at one of the pipes jutting out of a cracked wall, making water pour out of it like a broken dam. Swiftly, he moved his arms upward and the water followed suit. He began attacking the monsters at full force, hitting them with one blow after another. Oikawa knew he couldn’t just stand there and watch so he too joined in, raising his arms high in the air. The water from all the water glasses swirled upwards, pooling into one giant puddle. With one swift movement of his arms, Oikawa made the water crash down onto them, killing a select few. He didn’t have much practice with his abilities in this manner, but he wasn’t completely useless. 

As Oikawa and Zale continued fighting the monsters, Araxie appeared at their side. She possessed powers beyond just water; she had the ability to form ice. With a flick of her arm, she gathered the water and transformed it into ice, showering it over the malva monsters and holding them in place. She turned to face her husband and son, her eyes filled with sincerity and fear all at once. 

“We don’t have much time,” she said, clenching her fists. “I don’t know how long my ice can hold them. We must go at once!”

Oikawa nodded, following his mother’s orders. He ran as fast as he could down the long hallway, stopping at his room to grab his bag. He shoved the book about the malva monsters in it and hurried back out, meeting up with his parents. Borak and Adamine had joined them, their eyes wide with apprehension. Oikawa wondered where Iwaizumi was. He prayed that he was okay. 

Just as they were about to reach the door to the exit, it closed and made a clicking sound, indicating that it was locked. All five of them stopped in their tracks, noticing a shadowy figure take form in front of them. It was Hatredes.

“You really think I would just let you go?” he asked mockingly. “I’m not stupid, dear clan leaders.” He turned to face Borak and Zale, a mischievous grin stretching across his hidden face. “Ah, Borak and Zale, two of the strongest clan leaders in all of Skelevar. Perhaps it was wrong of me to believe that you’d think I’d target you first, hm?” 

“You’re crazy!” Zale shouted, reaching for his sword. All he felt was an empty sheath, and then he suddenly remembered that it was wedged in the wall back at the main hall. He cursed under his breath, standing protectively in front of Araxie. “What is the meaning of this? Why are you even here?! The One told us that you were away doing business!” 

“I would tell you, but that would be a waste of my breath. After all, you’re going to die soon enough anyway.” He eyed Borak, raising a gloved hand from his cloak. “I think I’ll take care of him first.”

An electric bolt shout out of his palm, heading straight for Borak at a high speed. Borak hesitated for a minute and tried to think of a way to defend himself, but it was coming too quickly for him to react. He shielded himself with his arms, ready to take the impact, but when he opened his eyes again, he was unharmed. He stood there in confusion until he saw Adamine on the floor, a dark spark igniting around her body which had now gone pale. 

“Adamine!” he shrieked, tears filling his eyes. Oikawa and his mother covered their mouths with their hands, watching in horror as Adamine’s life slowly slipped away as if it were nothing but a slip of paper. 

Borak stood up sharply, gritting his teeth together. He charged at Hatredes, pulling out stones from the walls and hurdling them towards him. Unfortunately, his emotions left his powers unstable and uncontrolled, so he missed Hatredes by a long shot. Borak raised his arm to launch a boulder at him, but Hatredes grabbed his throat in a vice-like grip, drawing blood from his neck. Soon, Borak turned purple, gasping for air. 

Zale charged towards Hatredes, hoping to save Borak. As he reached for him, he didn’t see Hatredes’s other arm extending outwards from underneath his cloak. Before he knew it, he too was caught in the vice-like grip. Zale, however, had another trick up his sleeve. He de-solidified and transformed into water, falling to the ground in a puddle where he reformed. When his body pieced itself together again, he noticed that Borak had stopped struggling. He was dead. Zale let out an angry growl, watching as Hatredes dropped Borak’s lifeless body onto the ground as if he were nothing more than a rag doll. 

Oikawa realized very quickly that fighting Hatredes was a mistake. They didn’t have enough power to take him on. Not yet. Without another moment of hesitation, he grabbed his parents’ hands and dragged them in the opposite direction, running as fast as his feet could take him. His calves burned from the intense running he endured, but he kept going, not looking back for even a moment. As he pushed forward, he couldn't help but feel bad for Iwaizumi, who if still alive, would no longer have a family. _I really hope he’s safe_ , Oikawa thought, turning the corner. When the three of them entered the castle’s grand foyer, Araxie stopped them, yanking her hand away.

“Tooru, dear, your energy is draining. Go on without me. I’ll hold off Hatredes,” she told him. The sincerity in her eyes returned, but the fear was no longer present. Oikawa shook his head, trying to grab her arm again, but she shook her head, looking him in the eyes. “Go.”

“Araxie…!” Zale cried. “We can’t just leave you behind!”

“I said go. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“I’m not leaving you!”

“Zale, please—“

“I’ll fight with you. We just need to make sure Tooru gets away safely.” He turned to his son, exchanging a glance with him. 

Oikawa nodded, wiping the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. He wanted to stay and fight too, but he figured he would probably only be in their way. He limped up the stairs, escaping to the top of the castle where he was sure the malva monsters hadn’t reached yet. His shoulder ached from carrying his bag this entire time, but there was no time to rest. Once he reached the top floor, he pulled open the window, glancing outside. Féora’s main city was in complete chaos. The nearby academy was in ruins, the library was burnt to ashes, and the streets were covered with blood and discarded organs. Oikawa swallowed the heavy lump in his throat and looked down from the window. It was a huge drop, but he believed he could make it. He climbed onto the windowsill, but just as he was about to jump, he heard a bloodcurdling scream. It was the scream of a woman. His mother. Another scream followed, this one slightly more low-pitched. Zale Atkins, his father. 

Oikawa’s heart stopped. He had to place his hand on wrist to make sure his pulse was still going, because in that one split second, he could’ve sworn that he was the one who died. Time seemed to stop around him. Oikawa shook his head, brown tufts of hair swaying violently. _No, no, no, this isn’t happening…this isn’t real…this is just a dream! They’re still alive! They have to be!_

He wanted to go back and check on them, to make sure that they were okay, but he knew his mother wouldn’t approve of that. If she really was gone, her last wish was for him to get away, so he couldn't go back on that. So what should he do?

His little mental panic was interrupted as the door slammed open, pulling him back into reality. Whoever just entered the room couldn’t have been on his side, so he did the first thing that came to mind. Without a second thought, he jumped, falling tons of feet down towards the pavement below. As he fell, he was able to gather water from the giant fountain located in front of the castle, using it as a platform to guide him to the ground gently and safely. When his feet hit the ground, he heard another scream. He wished he would stop hearing them, because he’d had enough for one day. For all he knew, he had just become an orphan. 

Oikawa ran towards the source of the scream, hoping to make it in time to save the survivor. As he rounded the corner and entered the alley, he felt his heart sink when the person crying out came into view. It was Endon. He was being pinned down by a malva monster, its claws gripping his throat viciously, not sparing even an ounce of pity. Oikawa wanted to slash at the monster with all the rage that had built up inside his body, but Hatredes appeared where Endon was, making Oikawa come to a halt. He hurriedly hid behind the brick wall, peeking through a small crack to see what would unfold. Only then did the confirmation of his parents’ death settle on his shoulders, crushing him. It took him a lot of willpower to hold back tears. 

“Oh, poor, defenseless, child,” Hatredes spit out, straining each word as he stepped on Endon’s chest. “Is Daddy not here to protect you now? Are you afraid?” 

 _I’m going to kill that bastard,_ Oikawa thought, tightening his fists. His nails dug so deeply into his flesh that little half-crescents took form on his palms. 

He was expecting his friend to make a snappy comeback, but to his surprise, Endon did not respond to Hatredes’s statement at all. Instead, he looked at Oikawa, locking eyes with him. He sent a message through telepathy, a special skill he picked up on during their visit to Auralin. Oikawa’s lip trembled, but he listened to Endon’s message, which said: “ _Whatever happens, don’t make a sound! You cannot be found. You’re our only hope, so please stay hidden and even run while you can!”_ There was a slight pause, and then, “ _You were the dearest friend I could’ve ever asked for…you befriended me when nobody else had. You were my one and only friend, and I’m so glad to have met you. I will never forget all the fond memories we shared. If I don’t make it through this, which I probably won’t, I’ll make sure to watch over you from above. I wish it didn’t have to end like this. Stay safe, Tooru. I believe in you. Save Skelevar before it’s too late.”_

Oikawa started sobbing, unable to hold back the tears any longer. He was trying his best to keep quiet, but he couldn’t stop. Luckily, the malva monsters’ loud growls masked his crying, so Hatredes wasn’t aware of his presence. He placed his head into his palms, biting his lip so hard he nearly drew blood. _This isn’t real…this isn’t happening….this isn’t real… this isn’t happening,_ he repeated over and over, hoping that if he thought of it enough, it’d become true. 

Meanwhile, Endon looked up at Hatredes, shooting him a repulsive glare. “You will never succeed in your conquest! Light will always beat darkness! The good are the ones that prevail!”

“Oh shut up, you stupid Avalonian,” said Hatredes, saying the last word with particular disgust. With a single twist of his hand, Endon’s neck snapped, and he was dead.

Oikawa had to shove his hand in his mouth to bite down on to stop himself from sobbing hysterically. He didn’t know how much more he would lose, or if there was anything left to lose. He slid down the wall, his back scraping on the jutted ledges and drawing blood. Oikawa was too miserable to care. He lay his head on his knees, trembling. He didn’t even care if Hatredes found him or killed him. There was nothing left to live for.

Minutes passed, and as Oikawa waited for something to happen, he soon realized that the streets had fallen silent. The malva monster that had pinned Endon down was now gone, along with the others guarding the area. Hatredes was nowhere in sight either. Oikawa peeked around the corner, barely noticing the collapsed tents strewn across the area through his blurred, tear-stained vision. Endon’s body lay in the middle of the tents, his tan skin fading into a ghostly white color. Oikawa crawled over to him, choking back sobs, and placed his hand softly over his eyes, closing them shut. The one thing Oikawa was glad about was the fact that Hatredes hadn’t tortured him or made him suffer. He touched Endon’s bruised and bloody forehead gently and whispered, “Thank you. For everything you’ve done.” His tears dripped onto Endon’s face like raindrops, washing away slight traces of blood. 

Oikawa wanted to stay and mourn a bit longer, but he heard growls emerging nearby, so he did what any reasonable person would do — flee. His mind screamed _‘Coward, coward, coward!’_ at him, but he didn’t have much choice but to escape. He couldn’t let himself get caught. He had to stay alive for Endon’s sake.

Even though his legs nearly gave out, he kept going, sprinting into the woods with feet pounding hard against the dirt. He was running so quickly that he didn’t notice something blocking his path, and he would’ve crashed into it if he didn’t skid to halt at the last second. When he looked up, he recognized the obstacle as a horse carriage. 

“A carriage, huh?” he muttered to himself, reaching for his pocket. 

With a slash of his blade, he cut the ropes binding the horse to the carriage and mounted the horse itself. He rammed his feet into the sides of the horse’s rear, signaling it to move. His mind told him that he needed to get home to Aquadia as soon as possible. He wanted to see it one more time before Hatredes and his monsters destroyed it.

Oikawa rode through the empty land for several hours. As he passed through Avalonia, he saw that it too was completely destroyed. Every Avalonian was killed; their dismembered bodies lay around the blood-red streets, covered in gunk and scratch marks. _He really is getting rid of all ways to defeat him, isn’t he,_ Oikawa thought as he grimaced at the scattered organs. The stench of death hung fresh in the air, leading Oikawa to believe that the malva monsters had been here recently. He was losing time. He urged the horse to go faster, to which it obeyed. Oikawa had to get home before it was too late. He needed to get that crystal he read about in the library, the one his father spent so much time protecting. Whatever it was, it was important, and he couldn’t let Hatredes have it. 

When he finally approached his homeland, it turned out that his wishes had been denied. The golden gate located at the entrance of Aquadia was torn open, the frontal guards slaughtered. An eerie silence filled the area, making an abrupt sense of paranoia wash over him. Oikawa rode into the city silently, making his way to his castle. To his relief, it hadn’t been destroyed yet. Perhaps the guards were able to fend off the monsters long enough to keep them away from the castle.

Unfortunately, Oikawa was foolish to push his luck and hope like that, because as soon as he approached the tall brass door, a gigantic creature with pitch-black wings flew above him and rocketed towards the building, breaking off various pillars which caused the entire top half to crumble away. The ground shook beneath him and he fell off the horse, landing on the hard ground with a thud. Brushing it off as if it were nothing more than landing on a pile of marshmallows, he scanned the area, eyes wide with sincerity. He needed to find a way inside, and fast.

Because it was his castle, Oikawa knew of the many secret entrances it contained. He scampered to the backyard and tore open the bushes lined against the wall. Beneath the bushes lay a metallic door locked with a seal, one that could only be undone by someone belonging to the royal family. Oikawa lifted his hand, bringing the water from the nearby pond into the air. He carefully lowered it into each crevice lining the door, filling each one with the perfect amount needed to break the seal. He was glad he practiced his control and precision last summer.

The door glowed once each crevice was filled, preparing to unlock. Once it flew open, Oikawa leapt into the opening, landing in a stream of water. He looked around, recognizing the place as one of the main sewers in the city. His nose wrinkled in disgust, but anything was better than being up on land where all the creepy creatures were. 

Oikawa pushed through the rapid water, heading towards a ladder that led to the kitchen. He climbed up, lifting the door above him slowly, but not completely. He caught sight of some feet walking by and his instincts kicked in immediately. He gathered some of the sewer water, prepared to destroy any enemy that came across his path. Moving faster than a flash of lightning, he jumped through the door with a battle cry, getting ready to attack whatever monster was raiding the kitchen. To his surprise, however, it turned out that the feet he saw belonged to the servants and chefs of his household. They gave him a confused look, and Oikawa blinked twice at them. _Haven’t they realized what’s been happening?!_

“Master Oikawa? What were you doing in the sewers?” asked Sheila, one of the chefs.

The words poured out of Oikawa’s mouth like water out of a fallen pitcher. “Skelevar is under attack! Today at The Feast, the One — you know, the councilman of Tenebrarum? — was killed by his apprentice!” He took a deep breath, finally giving his legs time to rest. He still couldn’t believe how fast everything was happening. Just a couple of minutes ago, he was in his room reading a book, and now, he was running for his life. “You must all leave at once. The castle is under attack as well. Go!”

They all seemed very taken aback by this, but sure enough, they stopped what they were doing and grabbed their bags. Oikawa told them to use the sewer systems to escape; not only because they’d remain hidden, but also because they led out of Aquadia to a safe haven. 

One by one, all of the chefs and servants climbed down the ladder and landed in the stream with a splash. Sheila looked up at Oikawa, her eyes shining with worry. “Master Oikawa, what about you? Won’t you be joining us?” 

Oikawa shook his head, giving her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sorry, but there’s something else I need to take care of.” He shut the door to the secret entrance and covered it with a rug, ensuring that it wouldn’t be discovered. Quickly, after grabbing mounts of food, he stormed towards the stairs, not leaving a second to spare. He climbed up as fast as he could, and as he went up, he saw all the destruction and waste being laid to his once beautiful homeland. Just the sight of it all made his heart twinge. 

Because he was now at a higher part of the building, he could clearly see the flying creature that crushed the very top half of the castle. It had six eyes, three on each side of its massive head. Its face was unnaturally elongated and its teeth were basically blades. The wings protruding from its back were larger than five boat sails and the body itself was bigger than a ship. It bore a slight resemblance to a dragon, but a majority of its features seemed too unordinary for it to be one. After all, what kind of dragon had eight tentacles and two tails completely lined with spikes? Oikawa thought the malva monsters were terrifying, but this beast took his fear to a new level. 

Despite the terror the beast brought upon, there was no time for him to cower in fear. He had to find the secret room that guarded the Union Crystal as soon as possible. He raced up the last flight of stairs, heading towards the next entrance. Once he reached the right floor, he searched for the room, instantly locating it after seeing the guards surrounding it. He still didn’t understand how nobody in the castle had noticed what was going on. 

Oikawa rushed towards the guards, explaining the situation as fast as he could. To his dismay, they didn’t believe him at first, but when he pointed outside towards the window at the creature, their faces went pale. They grabbed their helmets and bolted to the exit, but it was a bad decision. Before they could even step out the door, the flying monster broke into the room, catching them in its mouth and biting down, breaking their bodies in half. Screams were the last thing that escaped their mouths as their armor-covered bodies fell to the ground with a _clank_.  Oikawa had to cover his mouth to prevent himself from hurling.

Averting his eyes away from the creature and the corpses beneath it, he leapt into the room, slamming the door shut behind him. He needed to find the crystal quickly and escape before he too was eaten alive. 

Just like it was many years ago, the crystal was perched on a pedestal in the center of the room. The white walls reflected the light shining from it, making it sparkle in an array of colors. Oikawa climbed up the pedestal with ease and grabbed it, shoving it into a secret pocket in his satchel. As he descended, a beam of black and purple light blasted through the wall. Oikawa felt chills run down his spine as Hatredes appeared through the crack. 

“So it’s you again, little prince,” he said in a displeased tone as Oikawa landed on the floor. “I thought my monsters took care of you back in Féora.”

“Well looks like…you thought wrong!” Oikawa choked out, holding back his anger and hiding his fear. He wanted to do nothing more than slaughter Hatredes himself; he didn’t know why his mind resorted to such violence, but he wasn’t going to tolerate how he killed the three people closest to him, one of them right before his eyes. “You won’t get the crystal. It belongs to Skelevar and it’s a jewel my father protected for so long. I’m going to keep it safe and survive this hell you’ve brought. I’ll reverse all the horrors you put upon this land!”

Hatredes simply let out a chuckle, but he was impressed by his confidence. “You don’t have the slightest clue of what the crystal does, now do you?” 

Oikawa gritted his teeth, curling his hands into fists. “So what if I don’t? All I need to do is keep it away from you!”

“Ah, little boy, only if you knew what that thing is truly capable of. Please hand it over before I am forced to kill you.”

Oikawa frowned, fed up with his attitude. “You aren’t forced to do anything, you bastard! You willingly murdered your superior and slaughtered more than half of Skelevar! You killed my parents, my best friend, and a bunch of other innocent people, and you think I’m just going to stand here and hand over the crystal like it’s some toy?!”

Hatredes seemed taken aback by his outburst. “My, my, quite angry now are we?” He stepped back, dusting off his cloak. “I’m trying to help you out here, Prince of Aquadia. Please hand over the crystal. Now.”

“No,” Oikawa hissed, narrowing his eyes. “Why do you want it so badly?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you, insolent child,” Hatredes said, letting out a sigh. “Even _I_ have yet to explore what it’s fully capable of.”

“Then why would you want a stone that you know nothing about?” Oikawa demanded, glaring daggers at him. All traces of fear vanished from within him.

“It seems you have misinterpreted my statement. I know what the crystal can do, but there’s an extent to its power. One that I wish to learn about.”

“Why don’t you tell me what you know, then?” Oikawa said, gripping the strap of his satchel. “Why did my father protect it for so long? What’s so special about it?”

Hatredes was beginning to get annoyed. “Listen here, pretty boy, you’re not going to always get all the answers you want right away. There are some things in life you have to discover on your own. Now, if you don’t tell me where the crystal is, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.” 

“You will never succeed, because I will obliterate you, HERE AND NOW!” Oikawa yelled, charging towards him with water flowing at his sides. 

Hatredes, no longer fazed by his anger, was faster. He held out his hands and blinked once, sending a dark ball of energy in Oikawa’s direction. Oikawa was instantly blown out of the room, momentarily losing consciousness as his vision faded to black. 

When his sight cleared up after a few seconds, Oikawa realized he was falling out of the castle, plummeting towards the ground at a dangerous speed. He panicked, but was momentarily distracted by a bright light shining above him. He looked up, recognizing it as the crystal. He reached his hand out and grabbed it, just before his body hit the ground beneath him, hard, blowing him completely out of consciousness. 

~☆~

When Oikawa awoke again, he found himself in a river behind the castle. Screams of anger sounded above him, and they sounded vaguely familiar to Hatredes. He didn’t realize someone like him could lose their temper. He was probably pissed that Oikawa had the crystal and not him. 

Oikawa glanced down at his body, noticing red stains on his clothing. It didn’t take him long to find out it was blood, which caused him to shudder. Just the sight of the blood made him light-headed, and he felt himself slowly losing unconsciousness once again. Just before he passed out, he saw someone drag him out of the river, but his vision had already faded before he had the chance to see who it was. 

~☆~

A couple of minutes later, Oikawa opened his heavy eyes, now finding himself in a cottage of some sort. He pushed himself up from where he was laying down, feeling a bandage wrapped around his waist. Panicked, he unwrapped it, breathing a sigh of relief as he realized the wound that was there earlier was now gone. He wondered who tended to his injuries, but when he looked around, there was nobody there. _Weird,_ he thought. He stood up, pushing himself off the bed he was on. As his hands touched the wooden frame of the bed, he felt a piece of paper, causing him to jolt. He looked down, plucked the paper off, and read it aloud.

 

“Oikawa. You must heed the words of your friend Endon. Keep the Union Crystal safe. Do not lose sight of it, and do not, at any cost, let it fall into the wrong hands. I’ve tried to treat as many of your wounds as I could, but Hatredes injured many parts of your body that will take time to heal. Once you are fully healed, take the crystal and search for one person from each clan. You may think that you’re the only one alive, but I assure you that there are more survivors than you believe. They’ll be hiding in various areas, and you need to try extra hard to locate them. Please take precaution. Many of them have been enslaved by Hatredes, and some have even lost their minds. Be sure not to recruit the wrong person. Search for them quickly. I will not reveal my identity to you, but you may or may not find out in due time. I’ll assist you along the way by leaving clues. There is no way to contact me so please focus on your quest, but know that I will be notified when you start your journey. Be safe and good luck.”

 

That was how it ended. Oikawa obviously had no idea who wrote it; he didn’t even have the slightest idea. All he could tell was that he needed to trust whoever wrote the letter and carry out their wishes no matter what. So, he stayed in the cottage for a week, waiting for his wounds to heal. Once he completely recovered, he packed his bag with clothes, a knife, a pouch of water, some food, and a small pendant from his mother containing a special property.

Oikawa knew he couldn’t complete this quest on his own — he needed to unite the six sectors of Skelevar and convince them to join him. But what then? How would they even use the crystal? Would they save Skelevar? What was the purpose of this journey? Questions filled his mind, when suddenly, Hatredes’s voice sounded loud and clear in his head: _“Listen here, pretty boy, you’re not going to always get all the answers you want right away. There are some things in life you have to discover on your own.”_  

Oikawa took a deep breath. Although he was confused about more than half of what he’d been told to do, he had no other choice but to go with it. Recruiting the six members was his top priority, but he was unsure of who still lived in this land, or if they would be willing to join him in the first place. Endon was an Avalonian, but he was killed along with the rest of them. He only hoped at least one of them was still alive, considering the massacre he witnessed in Avalonia. He also didn’t have a clue of how he was going to find someone from Tenebrarum, especially someone who had a good soul or was uncorrupted. 

With all this in mind, Oikawa pulled open the door, setting off on his perilous journey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know everything may have seemed rushed, but I assure you that it was intentional! i wanted you to get a feel of how fast things were really happening and the confusion it all caused. thanks for reading! feel free to leave reviews/thoughts/questions in the comments below!


	4. Kuroo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See how the fateful day unfolds from Kuroo's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little note: Main Hall and Meeting Hall are the same place, so don't get confused when I switch between the two terms. 
> 
> ~
> 
> I'm finally back with an update! I'm planning on updating these monthly, and I'm sorry it's a long wait but it takes time to make sure I don't slip up and reveal something too early and I need to make sure all the chapters correlate so the timings/events aren't off. I really am invested in this story and I'm going for a full-length novel, and I am really grateful to all of you who stay with me all the way and leave kudos/comments. Thank you all. <3

Not every story can have a happy ending, or even a happy beginning for that matter. In fact, some stories don’t even have a pinch of happy in them. Honestly though, that’s not what really matters. The point is, stories always have a purpose. Happy or not, stories pass on histories, cultures, and even language. They’re here to guide readers on a journey and open doors to new realms, and no matter where they go, it’s almost always breathtaking. 

Or at least, that’s what someone raised by the clan librarian would say if asked to share his opinion on stories.

All things considered, if stories had to have one thing in common, it’s that they all start from a certain point. Depending on the type of story, it may begin with a “Once Upon A Time” or possibly an “It was a dark and stormy night.” With this tale, however, the beginning starts off quite peculiar…

**

“KUROO TETSUROU, IF YOU DON’T GET DOWN HERE IN THE NEXT TWENTY SECONDS, I SWEAR TO THE NYMPHS—”

(Lovely start, isn’t it?)

Kuroo Tetsurou, the boy whose name you’ve probably gathered from the beautiful sound of his mother screaming at him at seven in the morning, jerked awake from his slumber with his eyes blown out to the size of golfballs. He blinked twice as he sat up, now being able to clearly hear the once incoherent screaming coming from downstairs. He realized, with a start, that his mother was yelling at him for being late. Again.

Kuroo pushed himself out of bed, fumbling around the nightstand to find his glasses. He hated how he couldn’t see anything without them; that only made finding them in the morning ten times harder. He really should’ve invested in some contacts, but that was beside the point. If he didn’t hurry, his practical blindness wouldn’t be his only disability. 

“Did you hear me?” his mother demanded when he didn’t answer, causing him to flinch.

“Mom, I can’t _possibly_ be downstairs in the next twenty seconds,” he said dryly. “That’s not enough time for me to get ready or even _get out of bed._ ”

“Tetsurou,” his mother said calmly, but still loud enough for him to hear from upstairs, “I know you don’t like social gatherings, but do try to be at least a little excited about it.” Kuroo could practically hear the annoyance at his attitude in her voice. “It’s an important, once-in-a-lifetime event, after all.”

He froze for a second, wondering what she was talking about. His hands continued roaming around the bedside table as he looked up. “Excuse me?”

“You know, The Feast? That’s today, dear. Did you forget? Why else would I be yelling at you on a Saturday morning?”

Kuroo wanted to answer with, ‘ _because you yell at me every morning regardless of what day it is, Mom,’_ but decided against it. “You mean that inter-clan event that our people offered to host at the Féorian Castle?” _Just freakin’ great,_ he thought with a sigh as he recalled hearing about it from an earlier point in time.

“Yes! As you know, because of all the book deliveries I make to the castle, and the fact that I’m familiar with all parts of it, I’ve been put in charge of decorating the place. It was kind of a last minute decision, so if you don’t mind, I need you to hurry up and get ready so you can help me out a little.”

Kuroo suddenly understood why his usual quiet and quaint mother was so stressed out this morning. It was evident from the tone in her voice, and obviously, the lecturing, scolding, and yelling he endured as he was waking up. “Yeah, okay, I’ll be there in a couple of minutes,” he said monotonously. 

His mom sighed at his dull tone, setting down a box she was holding. “After it’s all over, I promise you can go back to sulking in your room all day or gawking at your little friend from the window.”

Kuroo turned slightly red at that. His hands finally found the glasses, and he put them on before making his way towards the bathroom. “Mom, I don’t sulk. And I don’t _gawk_ at Kenma, I just watch him with admiration.” 

“Call it what you want,” she said with a laugh before returning to her preparations.

Kuroo rolled his eyes, shutting the bathroom door behind him. His mother would likely be busy for the next few minutes, so he had some time to get ready and to think. He put a toothbrush into his mouth, brushing his teeth slowly as he stared at his reflection in the mirror, lost deep in thought.

Kuroo knew that The Feast was really important to everyone else, but to him, it was a big waste of time. He could see it now: all the clans showing up, leaders making important speeches, and then everyone forgetting about everything they heard as they savaged after food. He didn’t think anybody would actually try to converse with someone from another clan — which he believed to be the main point of the gathering in the first place — due to the fact that anyone could accidentally end up talking to their real parents or siblings. After all, the Spirit Seeker separated children from their birth parents as soon as they were born, so the likelihood of them accidentally running into each other at this event where everyone was coming together would be fairly high. Of course, the chance of them actually _recognizing_ one another wouldn’t be as high. Kuroo was curious about his real parents, but he mostly didn’t think much of it. He didn’t need to. He was perfectly fine living with his adoptive mother, despite all the scolding and yelling he faced.

Once a couple or single parent adopted a newborn sent to their clan, they were allowed to do two things, and two things only. First, give their new child a first and last name that didn’t match their own, and second, give them a family indicator, which could be anything from a necklace to a tattoo carved into their skin. Kuroo possessed a silver bracelet with the symbol of a black cat, and each of its eyes was embedded with a green stone. 

Anyone could find their adoptive family in a mass crowd of people, but finding their real, biological one was close to impossible. There was nothing on the outside that indicated someone’s connection to someone else from another clan. Nobody ever found their real families, but because they were never together since birth, it didn’t matter anyway. 

Kuroo spit into the sink, rinsing his mouth out with water. The minty taste still lingered on his tongue as he stepped out the door, heading to his closet to grab some clothes for a shower.However, before he even had the chance to do so, the sound of his mother’s voice rang through the room— she was yelling at him again to come downstairs.

“But Mom, I’m not done yet!” he complained, reaching into the closet to grab an outfit.

“Sorry, dear, but you don’t have much time left! I need you down here in the next minute, please,” his mother answered, and Kuroo could hear stuff being thrown around. He let out a heavy sigh, upset about the fact that he didn’t have time to shower. Quickly, he stripped off his clothes and changed into new ones, spraying on a little bit of cologne to smell decent. He eyed his bedhead in the mirror with a lazy shrug before rushing downstairs.

Before he could even greet his mother with a ‘good morning,’ she began barking orders at him the second he shuffled into the kitchen. He looked around, not focusing on his mother’s words as his eyes widened at the scattered boxes, unravelled streamers, and piles of loose decorations. The entire house looked like it had been hit by a tornado. Kuroo wondered how she would manage to clean all of this up and transport it to the castle before the event began. He turned to face her, watching her with tired eyes as she read from her list, barely making out what she was saying.

Fauna Daniels was a petite woman, barely measuring up to about five feet and an inch. She had soft brown hair and big, light green eyes as clear as emeralds. Her nose and ears were rather small, which made sense due to her small structure. She had milky white skin with the occasional dash of freckles, making her stand out from most people. Usually she was very soft spoken, but if angered, people would normally want to flee.

“Tetsu,” his mother began, causing him to jolt. He tried to think of an excuse as to why he wasn’t listening, but she seemed to have something else to say entirely. “Apparently you have school for half the day today, so once it ends, be sure to get home on time! I’ll have everything ready by the time you’re done so make sure you’re prepared to help me with decorating the hall for this evening as soon as you get back.” She wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead, quickly turning to stir something on the stove. 

“School on a Saturday? Why am I not surprised?” Kuroo replied with an amused grin. His school really didn’t know the meaning of break, but he didn’t mind. He had gotten used to it by now; it became a normal routine to go to school six days a week, and, well, school was actually pretty interesting to him. 

He reached over the mess of flowers on the counter and grabbed a piece of stale bread, spreading sunflower butter on it before taking a bite. Normally he’d cook something himself, but his mother was occupying the stove, clearly too busy to notice his meager breakfast. He looked over at the pot she was stirring and sniffed it with curiosity, noticing that it smelled a lot like bean and pepper stew, but he wasn’t exactly sure of what it was. Every family in Féora was required to bring at least one dish to The Feast, but Kuroo wasn’t sure how well thought out that plan was considering that Fauna could cook about as well as a water buffalo. 

Kuroo turned to head out, when suddenly, his mom finally looked up at him. She gave him a once-over before narrowing her eyes, her gaze lingering particularly at his bedhead. “What’s with your hair again? You look like a mess!”

“Sorry, didn’t have time to brush it,” Kuroo said coolly, stuffing the rest of the bread into his mouth. He gave his mom a fleeting one-armed hug before grabbing his school bag and rushing out the door, ignoring her yells of protest.

Kuroo scrambled onto the streets, heading down the usual path that lead to his school. To those who have never been to Féora before, walking on the main road may come as a shocking surprise. Féorians were considered the “quiet, nature-loving people,” but taking three steps out of any home would lead to the middle of a huge, noisy, and bustling town. Kuroo’s house, a cross between a cottage and standard brick building, was only a couple of buildings down from the castle where the clan leaders lived. Conveniently, the library his mother worked in was right across from Féorian Castle. 

The School of Féora was located on the opposite side of town, about three streets south from the Féorian Castle. It was the only school in Féora, compacted into an academy that taught a variety of courses. All the attending students had nature-related powers and were taught to use them according to their own personal preferences. Kuroo had always been a lover of animals, so he took a course to learn how to talk to all sorts of creatures. That skill proved to be helpful when he was able to talk a rabbit out of eating his vegetable patch at home. He didn’t find it all too heroic, but his mother was eternally grateful. 

Sometimes, Kuroo would get these strange feelings that something good or bad might happen. His mother brought up the possibility of him developing the power to see the future, but Kuroo didn’t believe in those myths. He simply saw his feelings as mere intuitions, nothing more and nothing less. After all, what he predicted usually ended up being things that led to choosing the right vegetables at the supermarket or being able to tell which route was the shortest to his house. He didn’t even consider those predictions, but if his mother wanted to believe that, then so be it. 

Kuroo began jogging towards his school, passing Féorian Castle on the way. He waved at friends and neighbors as he passed them, when suddenly, the huge clock located in the middle of Main Square emitted a deep sound, indicating that it was eight o’clock. It also indicated that he was late. Again. He seriously needed to break that habit. 

Kuroo picked up speed, hoping he could make it within the next five minutes. Sprinting as fast as he could, he turned the corner, when all of a sudden, he crashed right into someone. He tumbled backwards, and books flew out of his bag, scattering all over the sidewalk. He rubbed his forehead wearily and pushed his glasses back up to their original position as he stood back up. He bent down to pick up his now-ruined books, frowning in the process.

“Holy shit dude, I’m so sorry!” a voice yelled, pretty loudly at that, from in front of him. Kuroo looked up and realized that it was the person he had slammed into; he could tell by his wild, spiked up hair of which he was able to catch a glimpse of before falling. Kuroo had never seen anyone with that hair color before: it was white-gray and streaked with black, clearly standing out from the rest of the crowd. It reminded him of his dear friend Kenma, who also possessed multi-colored hair. He found it to be very intriguing; however, his interest soon morphed into disgust when he saw the Auralin Messenger Crest sewn into the fabric of the other male’s shirt. 

He narrowed his eyes, lips slowly curling into a frown. The Féorians and Auralins had a rivalry between them centuries ago when each clan was claiming land; it was merely some nonsense about whose foot was on the piece of land first. After a while, though, nobody really cared about that piece of history. Now, it was more about the Auralins’ attitude. The kids in Auralin thought they were so great just because they were in the clan chosen to care for the Council of Six. Kuroo didn’t find that fair, because after all, the Council just chose the clan closest to the Council building.

He gave the Auralin a once-over. Aside from his wild hair, he had grayish, almost silver eyes with flecks of gold in them, was about average height, and in his hands he held a message envelope about the size of his textbook. After examining him a little, Kuroo thought he actually looked pretty nice for an Auralin. He didn’t seem so bad. Perhaps he should take his own advice and not judge a book by its cover.

“Hey, uh, sorry for crashing into you. My name’s Kuroo,” he said apologetically, sticking his hand out for him to shake. Suddenly, a thought entered his mind, but it was too late for him to pull back.

The Auralin Messenger took his hand with a grin, and Kuroo’s breath caught, but to his surprise, whatever he was expecting didn’t happen. The Messenger eyed him with concern, noticing the panicked expression strewn across his face. “Uh…you okay?”

Kuroo was left speechless for a second before the words came tumbling out. “Wait…how come…when I crashed into you…and when you held my hand…I…nothing…what…why didn’t…” he trailed off, leaving the Auralin confused.

“…Huh?”

Sweat formed on Kuroo’s forehead as his eyebrows scrunched together in deep thought, but he quickly shook his head, pushing the thoughts to the back of his mind. Everything was fine now, and he didn’t want to raise any unnecessary concern. “Sorry, uh, I’m just tired.”

The Messenger nodded sympathetically. “Okay. I’m Bokuto, by the way! Sorry for ruining your books.” He eyed the muddy books with guilt, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly with his free hand.

“Nah, don’t sweat it,” Kuroo said, a smile slowly taking form on his lips. Bokuto seemed relieved, and he slowly let go of his hand. 

“Hey hey hey, do you happen to know where the Féorian meeting hall is? I’m supposed to be taking a message to a woman named…” he paused, looking at the name scrawled onto the envelope, “…Fauna Daniels?” He flashed Kuroo an awkward smile.

Kuroo’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I know her,” he replied with a chuckle. He smiled at Bokuto, and found it amusing how he said ‘hey’ three times.

Bokuto perked up immediately. “You do?!”

“Yeah, she’s my mom.” 

“Wow, lucky me then!! I’m glad I ran into you!”

Kuroo nodded and gave him directions, pointing out the shortest route to his home. Before he could even say ‘Nice meeting you,’ Bokuto dashed off, yelling, “See you at The Feast!” over his shoulder before disappearing into the distance. 

Kuroo let out a content sigh. For some reason, an image of a great horned owl entered his mind. He guessed it was due to Bokuto’s appearance, because to be honest, it was freakishly similar to that of an owl. Kuroo shrugged, now realizing that maybe, just maybe, The Feast wouldn’t be as boring as he thought. 

~☆~

After his encounter with Bokuto, Kuroo looked at the clock, nearly dropping his books again when he noticed the time. If he was going to be late a couple of minutes ago, now it was even worse. He sprinted to the school building as fast as his feet could take him, throwing open the door upon arrival. When he looked inside, everyone was already heading to their second class period. A sickening expression took over Kuroo’s features as he shuffled around, trying to sneak in through the side door. Sadly, his attempt failed; he still needed to work on his stealth. 

“And where exactly have you been this morning, young man?” the Headmaster demanded the second he spotted him in the school. 

Kuroo turned around slowly, his mind going into overdrive as he tried to think of excuses. The last time he was late, the Headmaster threatened three weeks of after school detention if he was ever late again. Apparently, getting to school on time was more important than doing well in class. 

“My poor mother needed help preparing for The Feast this morning,” he started, choosing his words carefully, “It’s so much work for just one lady, you know.” He put on his most innocent expression, adjusting his glasses ever so slightly.

The Headmaster simply sighed. “I’m going to let you off today, but only because it’s Feast Day, alright? You better be on time next time!” 

Kuroo nodded quickly as the Headmaster walked away, shaking his head in disbelief. Without another second to spare, he scampered off to his second class and ducked into a seat located in the far back of the room. Once he settled in, he scanned the room for his best friend, but it seemed that his parents had let him stay home. _Typical,_ he thought with a sigh. However, his dear friend Kenma Kozume was there, carrying his tired expression as usual. Kuroo smiled, eager to talk to him once class had ended.

After suffering through a lecture about the importance of Féora’s history and a lesson on how to be polite to members of other clans, Kuroo and his fellow students were given an hour of study or “thinking” time. Kuroo grabbed his bag and walked to the front of the classroom, collapsing into the seat next to Kenma’s. He greeted him with a wide smile, and Kenma gave him a small smile in return. He propped his elbow up on the desk, leaning into his palm as he admired Kenma’s tricolored hair. 

“Ready for the test tomorrow on medicinal herbs?” he asked, setting his bag down beside him.

Kenma shook his head, letting out a bored sigh. 

“I can help you study, as always,” Kuroo said with a grin, pulling out a thin block of wood to write on. 

“It’s not fair how you’re not even taking this test but you know more about the topic than I do,” Kenma mumbled.

“Well I _am_ the son of the clan librarian,” Kuroo replied proudly. “There’s a lot of things I know that they haven’t even taught at this school.”

“I know, because you always show off what you learn to me.”

“What can I say? You’re the only person who really listens when I talk about all the new information I find.” He ran his hand through his messy hair, pushing it back. “So are you ready to study?”

“I’m too tired to learn now,” Kenma said with a yawn, blinking tiredly. “I just wanna go home and sleep.”

“Honestly, I think everyone does. But your test is tomorrow, and we won’t have time to study later because of The Feast. I have to help Mom with setting things up right after school.” He paused, turning to look at Kenma. “Speaking of The Feast, you’re coming, right?” 

“Maybe,” Kenma said, leaning on Kuroo’s shoulder like he’d done many times in the past. “I’m not that excited about it.”

Kuroo nodded knowingly, glancing down at him. “So, I’m guessing my shoulder is more comfortable to sleep on than the desk?” 

Kenma blushed lightly, and it was barely noticeable, but Kuroo saw it right away. “Stop, Kuro.”

Kuroo’s eyes twinkled from the way Kenma called him by the nickname he gave him when they were really young. “Stop what?” he grinned, wrapping his arm around Kenma. 

“Nothing,” Kenma muttered, eyes fluttering closed. 

“Hey, I gotta tell you something,” Kuroo said suddenly, his expression turning serious. “Earlier today, I ran into an Auralin, but when he touched me…” he trailed off when he noticed that Kenma had already fallen asleep. He let out a sympathetic sigh, saving his story for later. “Take some rest, you’ll need it,” Kuroo whispered as he brushed strands of loose hairs back from Kenma’s forehead. With his free hand, he grabbed the block of wood and began drawing on it, passing the time until they were dismissed. 

Seemingly a decade had passed when the melodic tune of the bell sounded throughout the room. Everyone grabbed their things and rushed out the doors, eager to get home and prepare for The Feast. Kuroo woke up his sleepy friend and greeted him with a smile, ruffling his hair. 

“Morning sleepyhead. Time to head home,” he said as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

“Are you going to walk me home again?” Kenma asked, holding Kuroo’s arm hesitantly and with anticipation. 

“I’m sorry, but I can’t today,” Kuroo frowned, placing his hand on Kenma’s head. He had to look down to meet his gaze; Kenma was a lot shorter than him, maybe only reaching up to his elbow.

“But the guards are frightening…” Kenma shuddered, squeezing his arm tighter. “I don’t want to go home with them.”

“You’ll be fine,” he said reassuringly, hoping it would be enough to convince him. “I’ll come check up on you later if I have time, but if not, I’ll see you at the meeting hall. Mom sent me a message while you were asleep to go to the castle instead of our house because it’s easier to head there instead of going home first and then coming all the way back. So I’ll see you later, okay?” Kuroo hugged Kenma tightly, wishing him luck. 

Kenma nodded slowly, rushing out the door to where the guards sent to walk him home were standing. Kuroo gave them a distasteful look, as if he were warning them to make sure they didn’t hurt his friend, before exiting through the side door and heading towards the Féorian Castle. It was only three streets away from the school, so the distance wasn’t too bad.

After a decently long walk of dreading all the work he had in store for him, Kuroo entered the castle, nodding to the guards as he stepped inside. His jaw dropped almost immediately when his eyes fell upon the interior the of the castle; all the walls were lined with streamers and other decorations, lamps were lit instead of the usual bright lights, and various flowers were wrapped around pillars in delicate twirls, enhancing the overall beauty of the place. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted when his mother greeted him with a hug. She walked him over to a table in the corner of the room, mumbling something to herself about colors. She looked very tired; Kuroo didn’t anticipate her to already have the whole place decorated in only half a day.

“Mom, I thought you said we were doing the decorations together. Why’d you do them all on your own?” Kuroo questioned with a worried glance.

“Well, the preparations took a lot less time than I intended, so I headed over as soon as a lovely Messenger boy brought me a letter,” she answered with a huff, setting down her clipboard. Kuroo smiled, remembering his encounter with Bokuto on his way to school. “I just need you to make sure everything looks okay and isn’t falling apart, because trust me, I _did_ try my best, but I’m sure everything isn’t perfect yet. I heard that the Aquadian Clan is going to be here any minute, so we need to hurry. The Avalonians are already here, or at least the royal family and a couple of citizens are. The official Feast doesn’t begin until later, but with all the people coming in, we should finish up quickly.” 

Kuroo could barely keep up with how fast his mother was speaking, but he nodded and set his bag down, getting ready to double-check the main parts of the castle. However, before he could even take another step, his mother stopped him and eyed him with dissatisfaction. 

“Huh? Is there something wrong?” Kuroo wondered, blinking twice.

“Tetsurou, dear,” Fauna said as she pinched the bridge of her nose, letting out a soft sigh. Kuroo raised an eyebrow at her, tilting his head slightly in confusion. She looked at him for a couple of seconds, as if expecting him to know why she stopped him, but when he didn’t stir with understanding, she let out another sigh. “Please go home first and put on something more…presentable.” She gestured to his poor choice in clothes with one hand as she pushed tables into place with the other. “And do something about your hair. Please.”

“But Mom, what about—” he began, pointing at the hall. 

“No buts. This is an important event, and you look like you just grabbed the first thing laying in your closet. Don’t argue with me, honey. Just do as I say please.”

With a groan, Kuroo picked up his bag and walked out the back exit without arguing any further. He was tired of his mother telling him to do one thing and then not even a minute later telling him to do something else, but he decided to just go with it so he wouldn’t make things harder. 

As he was leaving, a carriage was pulling up to the front gates, most likely belonging to the Aquadian clan as indicated by the crest painted onto the side of it. Kuroo slipped past the vehicle and raced home to avoid wasting any more time, trekking down the long path yet again until he reached the front door of his house. Once inside, he mounted the stairs and entered his room, stripping off his clothes and stepping into the shower. 

After endless days of being yelled by his mother for being late, Kuroo was used to showering quickly. He was in and out in five minutes flat, now standing in front of his closet with a towel wrapped around his waist, trying to find something decent to wear. He dug around for a bit and finally came across a black suit with a light purple tie. He shrugged and pulled it out, getting dressed. The pants were a little too long but it wasn’t too bad. Now as for his hair…

There was nothing he could really do about it. He couldn’t find his brush anyway, so he just finger combed it and hoped for the best. As he checked himself in the mirror one last time, making sure he looked a little less like someone who crawled out of a ditch, a pigeon flew in through the window and landed on his shoulder. It was the same bird his mother sent to him while he was at school. Kuroo held it gently, untying the scroll from its foot. He opened it up and read the message loud.

“I got someone to double-check my decorations so you no longer have that job, but I have something else I need you to do.” Kuroo paused with a frown, thinking, _seriously?!_ He shook his head in disbelief and continued reading. “I left some books at home that need to be in the library by today because I need to do an archive check later, so please bring them over and file them. Half the books need to go in the library, but the others need to be stored in the shelves in the area near the guest rooms. I’ve already marked them so you don’t need to worry about that. Hurry back, we don’t have much time before The Feast starts! I do hope you’ve chosen something decent to wear. Oh, and, once you’ve brought back the books, help me out with the place cards!”

Kuroo let out a sigh and set the paper down before proceeding to rummage through the house. He searched every cabinet and drawer, and then finally came across the books in a box stuffed between the couch and the wall. He pulled it out, removing the books and throwing them into a bag. Hauling the bag over his shoulder, he made his way back to the Féorian Castle, stopping at the library that was across from it. His mother’s tone seemed urgent in the letter so he didn’t even bother putting the books in the right place; he shoved them into the backs of random shelves and carried the remainder of them back to the castle, going as fast as someone carrying a load of heavy books could go. 

After stumbling past the swarms of guests flooding through the halls, Kuroo finally entered the area where the guest bedrooms were located. He breathed out a sigh of relief and readjusted the strap of the bag on his shoulder, shifting the weight to a more comfortable position. He approached the hallway slowly, and almost stopped when he heard shuffling from the first room on the left. From inside, a faint voice was mumbling something about a birthday, leading Kuroo to wonder who could be in there, but he didn’t let curiosity get the best of him. He continued walking forward, trying to find the door that led to the room where the shelves were. He only wished there weren’t so many rooms in the hallway, because although the one he was looking for had a different design than the others, it was still a long walk and he was getting tired. Unfortunately, there was no easy way out.

Once he passed at least fifty doors, he didn’t notice that a stray floorboard had come loose on the ground beneath him. With his pants being longer than usual, the second his foot hit the loose floorboard, well, his balance wasn’t exactly at its best. 

“Guah!” Kuroo shrieked as he hit the ground face first, books flying out of the bag and scattering all over the floor for the second time that day.

“Honestly, Kuroo,” said a voice from behind him with a chuckle, “Can you ever not look like a freak?”

Kuroo groaned as he rolled onto his back, recognizing the voice right away. “Easy for you to say, Mr. Prince of Féora!” he wheezed.

Iwaizumi Hajime laughed and held out his hand, pulling Kuroo to his feet. He wasn’t very tall for a seventeen-year-old, so when Kuroo was fully back up on his feet again, he stood at least four inches taller than him. 

Kuroo muttered a thanks and looked at him, taking in his appearance. His dark hair was neatly spiked, a lot more styled than usual, and he wore a royal robe the color of evergreen trees which really brought out his eyes. He looked really handsome — Kuroo knew that a lot of girls were crushing on him, although Iwaizumi pushed off their affections as just “admiration because of his status.” Kuroo had tried to convince him that it wasn’t that, but Iwaizumi was stubborn so there wasn’t much he could do about it. Either way, he still loved him the same. 

Iwaizumi Hajime was the heir to his clan, a “born to be king,” but also Kuroo’s best friend. 

Their friendship was one that wasn’t really expected — Kuroo was the son of a librarian and Iwaizumi was the son of the clan leaders (which made him a prince)— but it wasn’t an impossible relationship. Kuroo’s mom always ended up doing a lot of work in the meeting hall when they were kids, and Kuroo usually helped out in the library along with delivering books and other things. One day, Iwaizumi had wandered into the library when his parents were away at a meeting, and he ran into Kuroo there while looking for a book on Godzilla. They were both ten years old at that time. Basically, after the two of them had nerded out about their similar interests, their friendship had taken off.

“So, anyway,” Iwaizumi began, bending down to help Kuroo pick up the dusty books from the floor, “you know how my parents always want me to be polite and all when—”

“Pfft, _you_ being polite? Wow, they sure do have a lot of hope for you, don’t they?” Kuroo cut in, snickering.

“Shut up!” Iwaizumi hissed, shaking his head. “Like I was saying, they wanted me to welcome the clan leaders of Aquadia a couple of minutes ago, and you know how they have a son?”

Kuroo’s eyebrows scrunched together in thought, and then his eyes widened. “Wait…the same son that we accidentally pushed into the stream all those years ago?” he asked in shock.

Iwaizumi nodded with slight hesitation. “I think so. Unless they have another son… but I’m pretty sure Oikawa is an only child.”

“You know his name?” Kuroo raised an eyebrow, eyeing him suspiciously. 

Iwaizumi shifted uncomfortably under his gaze, and Kuroo found that to be surprising. “Well, uh, yeah. I actually found out just now.”

“What? You mean when you went to greet him and his family?”

“No. I didn’t feel like greeting them so I just stood in the back pretending like I was looking at the flowers.” Kuroo scoffed at that and chuckled under his breath, causing Iwaizumi to shoot him an annoyed look. “Anyways, his friend or something came over and started talking to him, so I didn’t want to interrupt. I tried to listen in on their conversation for whatever reason but it was too loud with all the people coming in.”

“Why didn’t you talk to him sooner, then? If you wanted to, I mean. I’m pretty sure you had a chance to.”

Iwaizumi averted his eyes, scratching the back of his head. “Well, I _was_ going to confront him, but I didn’t want to talk to him in front of my parents.”

“Huh? Why not? I’m lost.” Kuroo tilted his head sideways, studying him with curiosity. 

“Because…he was watching me, okay?” Iwaizumi shook his head slowly. “And I felt really weird so I figured that I’d talk to him privately.”

“Seriously?! And you did?” Kuroo blurt out. He noticed how Iwaizumi kept glancing at the first door on the left side of the hallway — or at least that’s where he _thought_ he was looking; it was hard to tell considering they were far away from it — and he remembered hearing a voice from there earlier. It led him to wonder if the person inside was the Aquadian prince.

Iwaizumi returned his gaze to Kuroo a couple of seconds later, as if he hadn’t been looking away the whole time. “I told my parents I’d show him to his room, but you know what was weird? They seemed really hesitant for some reason, or at least they sounded that way at first, but I still got them to let me go. So yeah, once I took him there we talked for a while and then our eyes met and I felt something _strange_ and I somehow knew it was his birthday too and it was just nice talking to him or whatever, I don’t know. Even though he was being really stupid and awkward, he was trying to smile at me I think and…” he trailed off, stopping after realizing how fast he was speaking. He glanced upwards to look Kuroo in the eyes, and Kuroo noticed that despite how dark the area they were in was, Iwaizumi’s cheeks were slightly pink.

“You realize what this means, right?” Kuroo nearly dropped the books in shock, a thought entering his mind. He heard footsteps in the distance, but didn’t bother turning around to check who it was. They faded pretty quickly anyway, and he was too focused on the topic at hand to care.

“What?” Iwaizumi blinked, clearly oblivious.

“He’s totally crushing on you. Dude, he likes you. I’m serious—”

“I know. I mean, I think? I’m not really sure, actually. I don’t know how this stuff works.” He turned away, suddenly wanting to change the topic.

Kuroo was taken aback. He gasped in surprise, staring at him with wide eyes. “Wait, you agree with me? Are you okay? Whenever I try to point out that someone likes you, you always deny it and—”

“Not so loud! He’s in the room a few doors down!” Iwaizumi shushed, covering Kuroo’s mouth. Kuroo mentally cheered for guessing right earlier. “And we only talked for like what, five to ten minutes? He didn’t look like the type to fall in love with just anyone. Why would he like me of all people anyway?”

Kuroo didn’t say anything until Iwaizumi lowered his hand, giving him a weird look. “How would I know? He _does_ realize that you were the one who tripped him down that hill, right?” he said a little quieter, readjusting the books in his hand. Iwaizumi shrugged, taking the books from him as they entered the room with the shelves.

Kuroo had heard rumors about the heir to the throne of Aquadia. People said that he attended the highest, noblest school there, and that he was powerful and mighty and all that, but Kuroo assumed it all to be nonsense. To him, Aquadia’s prince didn’t seem like someone who’d beall that great, and especially not the “crushing on a foreign prince” type. That being said, the last time he saw him, he was rolling down a muddy hill, so he guessed he couldn’t make any assumptions. 

Iwaizumi, after pulling Kuroo to a far corner behind the shelves once the books were stacked, went on talking about this so-called Oikawa, but Kuroo wasn’t paying attention. He could hear the sound of all the clans entering the castle, all the hustle and bustle before the event was about to begin. His mind stirred with a thought, and he turned around to tell Iwaizumi to shut up but stopped when he saw a daisy growing from the shelf.

“Hey, stop growing flowers here!” Kuroo hissed, plucking it and tossing it aside. It just so happened that Iwaizumi could grow any plant almost anywhere, but this mini-library was definitely not a good place for him to do so. 

Before Iwaizumi could comment on that, the sound of a gong erupted throughout the room, alerting their attention.

“Shit,” Kuroo muttered right after, panic settling in on his expression. “I think that marks the start of The Feast, I totally forgot to—”

“TETSUROUUUU!” Fauna yelled from across the hall, sounding out of breath. The two of them flinched at the sound of her voice, immediately stopping what they were doing. “I TOLD YOU TO SET OUT THE PLACE CARDS AS SOON AS YOU’VE FINISHED PUTTING AWAY THE BOOKS!” 

Kuroo could feel his face paling, and Iwaizumi looked frightened as well.

“Uh…you should probably go do that…I’ll go see if someone needs something…cya!” he said shakily before sprinting away.

Kuroo felt the urge to roll his eyes at that. Iwaizumi would back talk his own mother (or anyone else) all the time, but Fauna scared him to the maximum. It was almost comical. 

“TETSUROU, HURRY UP! PEOPLE ARE ALREADY HERE!” his mother yelled again, her tone more urgent than before. Kuroo felt a chill run down his spine as he sprinted across the hallway, meeting up with his mother a few feet outside the meeting hall. He hurriedly apologized, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Fauna just shook her head and handed him the place cards along with other items for the table before directing him towards the meeting hall.

 ~☆~

After a few quick minutes of table setting, his mother yelling at him, and three different neighbors asking if they needed any help (Fauna’s screaming probably sounded like someone was being assaulted), guests started filling the main hall. Kuroo was stuck outside the door handing out seating diagrams, because with at least a couple hundred or more people in each of the five different clans, people were likely to get lost and disorganized.

First, Féora’s clan leaders arrived. Iwaizumi was with them, and he gave Kuroo a look of sympathy as he strolled by, which only caused Kuroo to scowl. Borak Levinson, Iwaizumi’s father, gave Kuroo a small smile as he passed him, and Adamine Lawrence, Iwaizumi’s mother, shot a wink in his direction. Kuroo returned a smile and bowed in greeting. Once Iwaizumi and his family settled in, the rest of the citizens followed. 

The next clan that entered was Avalonia. Kuroo couldn’t really get a good look at them because he ended up being pinned against the wall from the steady stream of them coming inside. They had an immense amount of clan members, so he had to stand back to prevent himself from getting run over.

Following the Avalonians were the Incindions, who looked just as intense as Kuroo anticipated them to, and then came the Auralins. Kuroo tried to search for the Messenger he had run into earlier, but he couldn’t find him anywhere. He wondered where he could be and hoped he didn’t get lost somewhere, because that would lead to serious problems for more reasons than one. 

The last ones to enter were the Aquadians, and Kuroo spotted the boy Iwaizumi had been talking about. However, it seemed that he didn’t see Kuroo; it looked like he was dealing with his father, also known as one of Aquadia’s clan leaders, who seemed disappointed in him for whatever reason. Kuroo shrugged and closed the door behind him when the last citizen had stepped inside.

Nobody from Tenebrarum came, Kuroo realized, and he had an idea of why, but he still wondered why _none of them_ were here. He knew they weren’t the purest of people, but not a single one of them showing up made him concerned. Everyone always branded them as “evil and malicious” (although they knew nothing about them) and even made it a rule not to talk about them, however, Kuroo hadn’t seen a single one of them go ‘corrupted dark lord’ so he wasn’t sure if all those rumors were true.

Once everyone had taken their respective seats, the most honored guests of the evening, the Council of Six, had arrived. They were a group of people who created all the rules and maintained peace; each one of them represented one of the five sectors of Skelevar. Nobody knew what their real names were; they were just called The One, The Two, The Three, etc. They were the eldest and most respected members of Skelevar, upholding the most power and control in the land. The One, the representative from Tenebrarum, was the oldest and wisest of the Council. Kuroo had heard rumors about him having to retire of old age soon which led him to wonder who would take his place. He hoped it would be someone just as nice as The One.

Each member of the Council was allowed an apprentice so that they could be trained to take over once the current councilman or woman had passed away. Kuroo didn’t know the names of any of the apprentices or anything about them personally because they were kept a secret until the previous Council member died. He was curious about who was chosen to serve under the Council, so when the apprentices made their way down the aisle, he watched them in awe, his dark brown eyes glimmering with interest. Although they were cloaked and no part of their faces were visible, he was still exhilarated. That is, until Tenebrarum’s apprentice passed by him. The cloaked man gave him a cold, hard stare, a look that seemed like he was almost accusing Kuroo of committing a crime. A strange feeling washed over Kuroo, like something was about to go wrong, but he shook it off immediately. If The One trusted his apprentice, then he had to reason that he couldn’t be bad. 

Little did he know that he was very wrong about that assumption, and he’d find out why soon enough.

While Kuroo waited by the door until the very last councilman took a seat up on the stage, he looked around, noticing how elegantly the room was decorated. His mother’s hard work was definitely apparent. Colored lanterns were strung across the high ceilings, each one bearing the symbol of one of the clans. The table cloths were color coordinated to match whichever clan was sitting at each table. All the place cards were perfectly positioned and organized, and not a single one of them had a fold or scratch on its surface. Kuroo was proud of his mother for how well she decorated and coordinated the whole event. 

Speaking of his mother, once all the Council members had finally settled in, Kuroo trudged over to Fauna and took a seat beside her. He had no idea how, but he ended up sitting in the front row next to Iwaizumi, who he guessed may have pulled a couple of strings and cashed in a few favors for the seating to be arranged this way.

“Shouldn’t you be up at the table for royalty?” Kuroo whispered as the clan leaders began their speeches. 

“Hmm…well I’m supposed to be, but then thought about it, and I realized that I’d rather be next to my best friend as opposed to my parents,” Iwaizumi whispered back.

“Really? That doesn’t sound like you,” Kuroo said, raising an eyebrow. “Why are you really here?”

“What? Can’t I just say that I’d rather be with my friend than my parents? I’m not in the mood for lectures, you know. And you know how Mom and Dad are.”

“Normally I’d believe you, but I can tell you’re hiding something. Spill it, Iwa.”

Iwaizumi cleared his throat before sighing in defeat. “Augh, fine. I’m here because with the way the royal tables are positioned, I’m stuck behind some really tall guys so I can’t really see the Aquadian royal table, but from here I have a better view of it so now I can see Oikawa a little better.”

A wide, slightly creepy grin spread across Kuroo’s face. “Ohoho, I see you’re into him already~”

Iwaizumi turned as red as the Incindion table cloth. “N-no, that’s not it! I’m just curious about him…that’s all.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. Whatever you say, Iwaizumi I’m-in-love-with-Aquadia’s-prince Hajime.”

“Shut up. I’m not _in love_ with him,” Iwaizumi growled.

Kuroo shrugged in indifference, and then his mother turned over to them.

“Iwaizumi, I have no problem with you sitting here, but please be quiet so we can hear the speeches!” she said, putting a finger up to her mouth.

Iwaizumi choked on his words as he spluttered, “Y-yes m’am!” Kuroo snickered at him, causing Iwaizumi to smack his shoulder. After a bit of bickering, the two of them tiredly looked up at the clan leaders and Council members, listening to them drone on about things that didn’t interest them in the slightest.

Finally, after an eternity of long, boring speeches, Iwaizumi’s father dismissed everyone to eat. The room was filled with cheers as everyone stood up from their seats, rushing to the back of the hall. The Council of Six made a toast, raising their ceremonial goblets, clinking them together, and then drinking deeply, marking the beginning of The Feast.

“Ah, and finally The Feast begins,” Iwaizumi said with a relieved sigh as he and Kuroo stood up to get food. As they made their way over, Kuroo noticed him looking around in confusion, and he was about to ask what was wrong until Iwaizumi stopped at the back table. “Hey, where’d Oikawa go?” he asked, turning to face Kuroo. Kuroo just shrugged and piled his plate high with food, grinning like a maniac. Iwaizumi shot him a look of disgust. “You,” he said with a sigh, “are the only person I’ve ever met who can eat three helpings of corn, beans, and meat and still have room for dessert.”

Kuroo stuck out his tongue in Iwaizumi’s general direction. “Hey, I’ve been working all day, or at least I should’ve been if Mom didn’t send me on a wild goose chase, and I had to go to school today unlike your royal butt.” 

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes at him, and Kuroo began stuffing his face with meat. Iwaizumi took a few helpings of the various items of food before scolding Kuroo to stop eating while standing up. Kuroo simply told him that he didn’t care about manners, which caused Iwaizumi to face palm. He dragged Kuroo by the elbow over to where they were sitting and the two sat down in their respective seats, diving right into their meals.

“Your mom’s food turned out pretty good,” Iwaizumi said as he put a spoonful of it into his mouth. 

Kuroo gaped at him. “I bet you’re the only man in Skelevar who can stand my mother’s cooking. She cooks like a freakin’ water buffalo.” Iwaizumi chuckled, and then Kuroo quickly added, “Don’t tell her I said that.”

“I won’t,” Iwaizumi assured, swallowing the bite he had just taken. “But is that why you normally cook at home?”

Kuroo nodded, digging his fork into a pile of what looked like mashed potatoes. “Man, who knew that with all these different clans, someone would bring mashed potatoes? I mean seriously, where’s the diversity around here?”

“Beats me, I guess they just chose the easiest thing to make,” Iwaizumi replied with a shrug, chowing down on a piece of meat.

For the next couple of minutes, the two of them shared their opinions on all the different foods as they ate and talked about random things (like how Kuroo would look in different types of glasses), when suddenly, they caught a glimpse of a strange expression taking form on The One’s face. Before either of them could point it out, he started to choke, and Kuroo nearly dropped his plate in shock. Iwaizumi’s eyes were wide with horror as The Two grabbed the goblet out of The One’s hand, yelling, “The One has been poisoned!”

Several of Féora’s people who had experience in healing and medicine rushed from their seats to where the Council members were sitting, but by the time they got there, it was too late. The One was laying motionless in a pool of his own blood.

Someone screamed so loudly that it hurt Kuroo’s sensitive ears. He nearly choked on his food as he thought, _Who could’ve done something like this? Who would do this in the first place?!_

Kuroo stood up quickly, dropping his plate, and then grabbed Iwaizumi’s wrist. He dragged him to the back of the room to clear the path for more of the medical team to rush up to the stage. As they surrounded The One, Kuroo watched them examine his decaying body, and then one of them yelled, “The One is dead! The Councilman of Tenebrarum has been killed!” 

Iwaizumi turned to him with a fearful look in his eyes, and Kuroo thought back to when the Council and their apprentices were entering through the doors. He remembered seeing The One’s apprentice shoot him a nasty glare, and suddenly a dangerous thought entered his mind. However, before he or anyone else could react, The One’s apprentice stood up on the podium and started saying things that were too unclear to make out from where Kuroo was standing, especially over all the screaming. Collective gasps of horror echoed around the room which soon turned into rushed whispers. Amongst all the chaos, Kuroo saw The One’s apprentice drop a black orb into the ground. Kuroo had no idea what was going on; he just stood there, frozen in shock from the events that had just taken place.

During this catastrophe, half the room was still while the others made a run for it. The Council of Six began bickering, arguing about everything that was going on. Kuroo felt Iwaizumi grip his arm as he glared at the stage in front of him, watching as The One’s apprentice slowly raised his arm in an upward motion.

Without warning, huge black monsters that dripped shadows erupted from the ground. Their teeth were bigger than the tallest tree, and their eyes were the color of the reddest blood. Warriors instantly moved into action to protect the citizens of Skelevar; however, they were no match for them. The monsters pounced, sinking their teeth into three people at a time, and threw them across the room. It didn’t take long before everyone started screaming in horror.

Fauna Daniels rushed towards her son, her eyes wide with fear and panic. “Tetsurou, get Iwaizumi out of here, now!” Kuroo jolted at the sound of her voice, glad she was still alive, and his hands began shaking violently. He hoped that his dear friend Kenma was okay too, and not one of the people whose organs were strewn across the castle floors. 

Kuroo watched as his mother ran out the doors to alert the people at the watch towers located on top of the Féorian Castle. Everything was happening so quickly and suddenly that Kuroo almost thought he was just imagining it all, like it was just some huge messed up scene in one of his favorite storybooks. It took him a good ten minutes before he could actually move again.

“Hey,” he heard Iwaizumi say to him shakily. Kuroo snapped out of his paralysis and looked up, watching as the room exploded with movement. Mothers were grabbing their children and running for the exits. A lot of them didn't make it though, they were instantly slain by the monsters and torn to shreds. Iwaizumi’s parents made eye contact with Kuroo, and he nodded. His only job now was to get the future leader of Féora out of there as fast as possible. Without another second of hesitation, he grabbed Iwaizumi’s hand and started running towards the back exit to the first place he could think of: the library. Kuroo knew of the many secret passages from there that could lead them out of the building, even out of Féora. 

Kuroo and Iwaizumi sprinted across the path drawing outwards from the castle, avoiding all the other people who were trying to escape. People were fighting through mobs to get to the main gate, but the black shadow monsters were plucking them from the ground a few at a time before completely exterminating them. Kuroo didn’t look long enough to see what would become of their fate. He didn’t want to find out. 

It took them a bit longer to reach their destination than they had anticipated. They had to take a different route to avoid being trampled to death by either the monsters or all the people, but the real problem came when their path was blocked by one of the monsters. 

Kuroo’s knees began shaking violently, either due to fear or the insane amount of running, and if Iwaizumi wasn’t there to hold him up, he may as well have collapsed.

“What do we do?” Iwaizumi whispered, out of breath, as he clutched onto Kuroo’s arm tightly. 

The monster growled at them, causing them to flinch, and they took a few fleeting steps back to avoid the saliva coming out of its mouth. 

“I-I don’t know, I can’t fight!” Kuroo said in panic, slowly walking backwards as the monster neared them. He was surprised (and relieved) that it wasn’t pouncing on them, but he didn’t say anything to avoid jinxing it. 

“Well you always tell me that knowledge is power, so can’t you do something?” Iwaizumi said, glancing up at the monster and then back at Kuroo. 

“Yeah, but how the hell is that going to do any physical damage?!” Kuroo almost wanted to yell. His fear was making him go a little insane, but he couldn’t help himself. He’d never experienced a situation like this before except in his head when he read books, but since this was actually happening in reality, it was a completely different story. He didn’t have any magic or superpowers like the characters in the books did. 

“Okay, yeah, but maybe I could help. Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it,” Iwaizumi said as their backs came into contact with a tree. The monster was gaining on them, and if they didn’t do something fast, they’d both be dead. “Hurry!”

Kuroo’s mind went into overdrive as he formulated a plan. The pressure was far too great for him to handle, but he had to try _something_. After all, he promised Iwaizumi’s parents and his own mother that he’d keep Iwaizumi safe, and he intended to keep to his word. 

“Okay,” Kuroo said with a nervous huff. Suddenly, the monster charged towards them, leaping in the air and baring its sharp fangs. Kuroo’s eyes widened, and he realized that he had no more time to be afraid. “HOLY— OKAY QUICK GROW A BANYAN TREE IN FRONT OF US!”

Iwaizumi nodded in a flash and raised his arms, and right in front of them sprouted an enormous tree with a thick trunk and large, glossy leaves. It proved to be very sufficient; the giant leaves stopped the deadly spit from touching them and the trunk provided as a shield to prevent the monster from getting any closer.

Kuroo’s eyes fluttered open after the impact, and when he saw that they were still alive, he released a breath of relief. 

“This isn’t going to hold forever,” Iwaizumi said, half-shaken and half-relieved. “We need to find a way to get rid of that thing completely.”

Kuroo nodded, tapping his chin. “I’m not sure if these things can be killed, but we have to try our best to at least hold it in place until we can escape.” Iwaizumi looked at him with an intent glint in his eyes, and then Kuroo snapped his fingers in delight, a nervous smile stretching across his face. “Got it!”

“What?” Iwaizumi asked, slinking backwards as the monster tried to break through the trunk. Small pieces of wood flew in their direction, and they had to shield themselves with their arms to avoid getting splinters. 

“You know those really thick plants your mom has in your backyard? We were playing there once when we were kids and I kept tripping over them.”

“Uh, yeah. Not to mention they’re pretty sharp too. Whenever she asked me to get vegetables from the garden I always scraped my ankles. Your point?”

“Right. So how about we use those to hold the monster in place? They’re thick and long so it’ll likely wrap around its entire body, and the sharp thorns are an added bonus.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes lit up with understanding, sparkling like emeralds in the faint stream of sunlight spilling through the small gap in the leaves. “Nice plan. Let’s sneak out through this corner and give it a surprise attack.”

Kuroo smiled and followed Iwaizumi out the small opening on the left, and they slowly crawled around the monster until they were behind it. All of this was so weird and horrifying to them, but Kuroo thought they were handling things pretty well. 

“Iwaizumi, now!” Kuroo yelled, standing up.

The monster turned around at the sound of his voice, but before it could move, giant vines curled around its body, holding its limbs together. It tried to leap forward at them, but instead collapsed, squirming violently.

“Holy shit dude, you did it!” Kuroo cheered, his mouth wide open in surprise. “You’re awesome!”

Iwaizumi smiled, grabbing Kuroo’s hand. “Okay, now it’s our cue to leave. Run!”

The door to the library was right around the corner, so the two of them made a break for it. The monster hissed and growled in the distance, only prompting them to go faster. Once they reached the main entrance, they burst inside, running through the endless shelves with their hearts pounding in their chests.

As they ran, Kuroo and Iwaizumi heard the sound of someone fighting and yelling from across the street, precisely where the castle was. Because the entire library was built with trees, and with them being one with nature and all, they had enhanced senses and could detect sounds from great distances. It almost didn’t bother them to wonder who the people fighting might be until they heard familiar voices, and Iwaizumi stopped in his tracks, his face going pale.

“What’s wrong?” Kuroo panted, out of breath. He was too focused on escaping to listen to the voices coming from the castle. 

“My parents…” Iwaizumi said softly, and Kuroo felt his heart skip a beat when he saw tears filling his eyes. “They’re…”

“We’ll get revenge,” Kuroo said, tightening the grip on Iwaizumi’s hand. “I swear on it.”

“I’m feeling so many regrets right now,” Iwaizumi said, wiping away the tears with the back of his wrist. “Kuroo…is this really happening?” His voice was hitching, like it pained him to say the words.

Kuroo bit his lip, unsure of how to answer. There was silence for a while, and the two of them stared at the floor with an array of emotions in their eyes, until the ceiling suddenly came collapsing without warning.

Only when Iwaizumi pointed out a burning smell did Kuroo realize the entire library was about to be engulfed in flames. 

“Iwaizumi, we need to leave!” Kuroo yelled, already sensing the fire making its way up to where they were. “Now!”

“Wait,” Iwaizumi mumbled, turning around. Kuroo shot him an incredulous look as he watched him glance at the faded couch behind where they were standing. Iwaizumi sniffed the air, his face contorting into a serious expression. “It smells like…hey, Oikawa has been here!”

Kuroo frowned, shaking his head. “Well he isn’t here now. Nobody is in here but us!” he said urgently, glancing around. “Come on we have to go!”

Iwaizumi shook his head. “We have to look for Oikawa, we need as many survivors as we can!”

“Don’t be stupid!” Kuroo growled, his eyes narrowing. “How can you worry about someone you barely know in the middle of something like this?!”

“How can you _not_ care! What will happen if we’re the only two left, huh?! Do you really think we can do anything against all of those creatures by ourselves?!”

“I care more than you think,” Kuroo spit out, and he saw guilt spread across Iwaizumi’s face when tears glazed over his eyes. “You remember my friend Kenma, don’t you?”

Iwaizumi paused, and then nodded slowly. “Yeah…the one you’ve known since you two were just one year old.”

“I’m worried about him, I want to make sure he’s okay too, but I can’t right now. What’s important is that we escape, because if we don’t get out of here, we can’t save anybody!”

Iwaizumi pressed his lips together and his eyes met with Kuroo’s, and Kuroo could feel the guilt dripping out of him. “You’re right, I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine,” Kuroo said shakily, wiping at his eyes. “I’m going to protect you at all costs, so please just stick with me. The library’s about to burn down and we need to go underground.”

Iwaizumi just nodded, sensing the flames coming closer than ever. He could almost feel the heat on his neck. Without a second thought, Kuroo pulled one of the books in the far back shelf, causing it to slide over before revealing a secret passage. He shoved Iwaizumi inside and followed suit, closing the gateway behind him. 

They hid in the cramped passageway for a few minutes, and Kuroo’s heart nearly shattered as his mother’s precious library burned to ashes. All the books he grew up reading and loving were now nothing more than dust. 

The two of them sat in silence for a long time, contemplating all the events that had just taken place. How long they sat like that, they didn’t know. It felt around thirty minutes, maybe even longer. After a while, Kuroo turned to Iwaizumi, who was on full alert with his ear pressed to the dirt as he tried to listen to something.

“What the hell?” Kuroo whispered, giving him a confused glance. “What’re you doing?”

“I feel like I sense his presence again,” Iwaizumi whispered hopelessly, pressing his forehead against a rock. “Or maybe I’m just losing it.”

“And you told me you didn’t love him,” Kuroo said with a sad smile, patting Iwaizumi’s shoulder.

“I don’t,” Iwaizumi hissed, and Kuroo could tell he was a bit hesitant, but decided not to question it. Even Iwaizumi looked like he didn’t have any energy to argue any further. “Can we get out of this place now? It’s getting hard to breathe.”

Kuroo nodded. “Yeah, I don’t sense anyone else in the area. We’re free to go,” he said, emotion void from his voice.

They shuffled through the narrow passageway and ended up in the back woods of their land. Kuroo peeked around, using his enhanced senses to detect any activity to make sure they weren’t in any danger. After a quick scan of the area, he concluded that there was nobody there, nobody alive, at least not where they were. Well, that’s what he thought until a couple of seconds later, when he heard the sound of footsteps coming in their direction.

“Shit,” Kuroo cursed, grabbing Iwaizumi’s arm. He shoved him into the bushes before climbing in himself, ducking down. “Stay down. Don’t move or make any noise.”

“But—”

“Don’t say anything. We can’t trust anyone but ourselves now. Remember that.”

Iwaizumi swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded, obeying Kuroo’s words. They waited in the bushes, eyes on full alert.

A minute or so passed, and Kuroo finally declared the coast to be clear after he heard a horse in galloping away in the distance. Once they emerged from the bushes, he turned around and faced Iwaizumi, who looked sick to his stomach. He also looked close to tears, which made Kuroo’s heart twinge; he had never even imagined that someone as strong as him could cry, especially not twice on the same day. He hugged him tightly as an assurance to let him know that they were out of harm’s way, or at least for now.

“Hey,” Kuroo began with a soft whisper, “I know it looks pretty bad, but they have it under control by now, right? All the clans are there, and everyone, especially the Incindions, are going to fight those creatures off. Everything will be okay. It can’t get any worse from here on out.”

Only if what he said came to be true. Because from that point and onwards, he could’ve never imagined how much worse it was going to get.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea how long this chapter took me to edit. I've been revising it for weeks and it was hell omg I'm so glad I finally finished it. And don't you love the Iwa/Kuroo brotp? I thought it was a good thing to explore and write about ^^;


	5. Bokuto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See how the fateful day unfolds from Bokuto's point of view.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YOOO I HAVENT UPDATED THIS IN FOREVER AND IM SO SORRY, BUT I FINALLY FINISHED THIS CHAPTER AFTER A WEEK OF HARD WORK! I want to thank @the-awkwardduck on tumblr, for being such a huge source of my motivation to complete this chapter. Hope you enjoy, and your patience will (hopefully) have been worth the wait!

Nothing in life ever starts out depressing. Like all newborn things, everything starts out with innocence. It’s not until some life-changing event occurs that the innocence is broken. Only after trying out something new can one determine if the experience was negative or positive, and that judgement can determine how well a similar situation can be handled in the future.

With that said, every sad story needs a happy beginning.

Bokuto Koutarou’s life wasn’t as complicated as it was now. It was more laid back: less stress, less worrying about your survival, that kind of stuff. Along with many others, he would give anything to go back in time and undo what had been done. Unfortunately, although each clan possessed unique powers, time travel wasn’t amongst any of them, or at least not that he knew of. But, of course, no matter how much magic is involved, nobody can reverse time. What’s done has been done, and there can be no undo button. However, there’s one thing that _is_ possible to change, and that is the future.

*****

“Bokuto? Bokuto, will you come here please?” The Four called, waving a delicate hand in the air.

Bokuto Koutarou smiled and stood up from where he was sitting, walking over to the councilwoman with slight hops in his steps. “Yes, ma’am. Does the Council need me again?”

The woman shook her head, meeting his eyes with a soft glance. “I’m afraid not, but I do have a task for you.” She reached into a drawer on her desk, pulling out a large file with a name scrawled onto it in messy handwriting. 

Bokuto immediately knew what was expected of him before The Four even began to explain. His eyes searched the file with curiosity, wondering what sort of message would be inside. Although he was never allowed to open the files he was given, he liked to come up with his own ideas of what was written and sealed away so privately in each parchment. 

“I need you to deliver this letter for me,” said The Four, breaking Bokuto’s trail of thoughts. “It needs to go to the region of Féora, more specifically to the meeting hall they have there. It’s about The Feast they are hosting this year, and I need the lady in charge to see this message. The no-peek rule still applies, but there’s no top-secret stuff this time, my boy.”

Bokuto laughed wholeheartedly, taking the letter as it was handed to him. “Oh well,” he said with mock sadness as he turned away dramatically, “I guess I’ll do it if you can’t find anyone else.” He slumped his shoulders and rolled his eyes to make it look as if he were disappointed. He heard the councilwoman laugh with delight behind him. 

The Four was a pretty, bright, young woman–– well, if you can call someone in their forties _young_. She had long, flowing hair like a waterfall, with bright silvery eyes that sparkled even under the dim light of the room. Personality-wise, she was friendly and kind, and according to Bokuto, she was also very fun to be around. 

“Go on, Bokuto,” The Four said with a smile, “Let’s see if you can make it back in record time. Godspeed and Auralin winds!”

Bokuto saluted to his senior, grinning widely. He adjusted his Auralin Messenger uniform ––a simple camouflage vest and trousers–– and placed the file into a satchel strapped across his shoulders. With a nod in The Four’s direction, he stepped out the window and leapt into the air, taking flight as he let the winds carry him peacefully through the sky. 

Féora, as Bokuto recalled, wasn’t very close to Auralin, so he knew the journey ahead of him was going to be quite long. Although his job was quite tiresome, it was something he could never regret having. Being a personal Messenger to the Council of Six who were, in fact, the top shots who ran all of Skelevar, was a pretty big deal and an impressive position to hold. 

Bokuto thought back to the time when he was first granted the title of Messenger. He was fifteen at the time, the age when all Auralin children began their work to serve the Council. He had woken up at the crack of dawn that day and ended up being the first one at the initiation ceremony. He’d never been so excited for anything in his life, so when he walked out with the uniform and crest in his hands, he couldn't stop smiling for at least a week. 

Despite not wanting his job to end anytime soon, Bokuto did dream of what he would do once he turned thirty, the age at which his work period would end. He wondered if he’d retire and start a family, or maybe even become a traveling entertainer. Or, if he really loved his job and didn’t want to give it up, he could work for the Council even further as a guard, advisor, or caretaker.

The members of the Council of Six were quite old; they were wise and strong, but at the same time, old and frail. Especially the eldest Council member, who was known as The One. Bokuto estimated him to be around a thousand years old or something. A bit of an exaggeration, but quite an understandable assumption. Bokuto was the only person, besides the apprentice and other Council members, who was allowed permission to see The One. It was simply due to the fact that he had passed a test and was recommended to a special job by the councilwoman of Auralin herself. 

Before any of them could start working for the Council of Six, they had to take a test composed of two parts –– a fitness and a written section –– to make sure they were qualified for the job at the time they were chosen to hold responsibility for it. 

After Bokuto took his examination, he had been ranked in the top ten of his entire sector. The Four, after harboring a great relationship with Bokuto herself, suggested to The One that Bokuto would be best suited for the job as his personal Messenger. The One couldn’t help but to accept the offer after listening to her go on and on about him as if he were her own son. Bokuto was agile, strong, and great with maps and navigation, so he pretty much had an edge and an overall advantage when it came to being a Messenger.

Bokuto reminisced the times he spent with The One. He was one heck of a guy, and even though he was extremely old, he was the most energetic of all the Six. He held the most wisdom in the Council and had the final say in all the decisions that were made. There was something deep about him and his words, a sort of understanding that none of the other Council members possessed. 

The One was a figure of greatness to Bokuto. However, during their last few meetings, Bokuto had noticed that his health was deteriorating, which scared him, because if he disappeared, then who would take care of Skelevar on his behalf? He doubted anyone from The Dark Vortex would be as kind and understanding as The One.

Bokuto shook his head to get rid of unnecessary thoughts and focused on the task at hand. He glanced down at the marked route on his map, reminding himself of all the shortcuts he could take to arrive in a timely manner. Féora’s meeting hall was located inside their grand castle, which was about a hundred miles Northwest of where he was. It would take about a week for a member of any other clan to walk there by foot, but Auralins had enhanced abilities that would let them travel at a faster rate, so Bokuto could cut that time in half. The last time he visited Féora, it had taken him three days to arrive. He hoped to shrink that down to two and half, and made it his new goal. 

Bokuto descended on a trail below and hurried down a narrow path, shoving the map into his pocket as he ran. He knew he could clear three miles in fifteen minutes if he kept his pace steady but quick. Normally he’d try to travel by flying, but he couldn’t control the winds with perfect accuracy quite yet. He was afraid that if he was too impatient, he might start a tornado or hurricane, so it was safer to travel by foot. It was a breathy sprint, but luckily, waiting for him at the end of the road was a farm, surrounded by fresh grass, beautiful horses, and to his relief, water.

After running for what seemed like a decade, a familiar sight greeted his eyes. The farm he visited in his free time was in clear view, the extreme distance now gone. 

Bokuto decided he’d stop here for a few minutes to take a breather, although he didn’t really need one. He was capable of traveling much further than this without a break, but it couldn't hurt to at least get some water. 

Carefully opening the barn doors, he walked into the room with multiple faucets and poured himself an entire bucket of water. He downed it in only a few gulps, drinking like a man who just came out of the desert. 

“Well you’re as thirsty as ever,” said a voice, startling him. 

Bokuto set down the bucket and wiped his mouth, looking around to see who had spoken. When he spotted a familiar face, his eyes immediately lit up. 

“Akaaaashiiii!!!” he yelled, smiling.

“Hello, Bokuto,” Akaashi, the farm owner’s son, greeted him. “What brings you here today?”

“A mission, a delivery!” Bokuto exclaimed, pulling out the file from his bag and presenting it as if it were some award. 

Akaashi looked at it without much interest. “Where’s it going?”

“Mmm…it’s something about the Feast that’s being held sometime this week. I have to deliver this to the host in Féora,” Bokuto answered, giving the file a once-over. He then looked at Akaashi, a sudden thought entering his mind. “Speaking of The Feast, you’re coming, right? Please tell me you are!” 

“Did you even need a break, Bokuto?” was Akaashi’s only reply to that. “You seem like you have a lot of energy left.”

“Just answer my question!” Bokuto said with a pleading look in his eyes. 

Akaashi sighed, pulling out a package of sliced bread from his bag and handing it to him. “Yes, actually. Father and I are coming. We’re bringing cookies and cakes.”

Bokuto grinned, taking the package and stuffing a slice in his mouth. “Thfansk, AkfasshI!” he said, and Akaashi understood what he meant despite his voice being muffled by the food. Bokuto swallowed the last bits of it and patted his stomach. “Great food as always! And I’m so glad you’re coming! I can’t wait to try more of your food at The Feast!”

Akaashi smiled at that, something Bokuto knew he didn’t do very often. He took a moment to look at Akaashi, to _really_ look at him. His breath always caught when their eyes met, and it was the only moment in his life where he was speechless.

Akaashi Keiji was two years younger than Bokuto. He was quite muscular–– a body structure that wasn’t much of a surprise because of all the time he spent hauling around heavy stacks of hay and flour everywhere. Akaashi had short, messy black hair with slate-grey eyes, but Bokuto could sense a bit of another color in them, almost as if the grey was just a mask to the real hue. He always thought it was his imagination though, because if Akaashi didn’t have silver or grey eyes, he wouldn’t have been sent to Auralin in the first place.

Bokuto and Akaashi had been close since a few months ago, when Bokuto stumbled upon the farm during a one of his missions. He was being chased by someone who had mistaken the package Bokuto was delivering for one of his valuables, and Bokuto had nowhere else to go, especially not in the weakened state he was in. He tried to reason with the person in hot pursuit of him, but his energy was rapidly draining. Luckily, he was able to make it to a farm before collapsing in one of the pens there. Akaashi and his father had found him not too long after, took him in, and cared for him. Since then, Akaashi had almost been like another parent to Bokuto; he always looked after him and made sure he was okay whenever they met up. 

“B-Bokuto…?” Akaashi said, his face slightly flushed. “Why are you staring at me?”

“O-oh! Um, no reason!” Bokuto said quickly, snapping out of his thoughts. “I, uh, have to go now. It was nice seeing you again.”

“You’re leaving already?” Akaashi asked, blinking.

“I’m trying to set a new record!” Bokuto explained with a wide smile. “I want to make it to Féora in two and a half days.”

“Oh, I see,” Akaashi said, almost _sadly_ , as Bokuto noticed. “I’ll see you soon, right?”

Bokuto nodded, turning to face the exit. “Thank you for everything, as always!” 

He was about to walk out the door, when suddenly, he felt arms wrap around his waist, keeping him in place.

“Have a safe trip,” Akaashi’s voice whispered into the fabric of his shirt, sending a warm chill down Bokuto’s spine.

Bokuto’s cheeks burned a bright red, but he shook his head quickly to clear it off. “I will. I really have to get going though!” He turned around and pulled Akaashi into a swift hug before hurrying out the door and mounting a horse. “Mind if I borrow one?”

“You know you’re always welcome to. Just bring him back safely, okay?”

“Got it!” He waved a goodbye to Akaashi, already missing the warmth of being at his side. The horse reared on its hind legs, let out a loud whinny, and then began galloping down the path to Féora. 

“Whoa, easy boy!” Bokuto yelped when the horse started picking up speed. 

Bokuto wasn’t a big fan of horses, mainly because they were big, had large teeth, and could practically trample someone to death if given the opportunity to do so. However, it was much easier than going a hundred miles on foot, so he decided to go on horseback for the rest of the way. 

Not criticizing horses any further, Bokuto decided to focus on his surroundings. The nature around him was beautiful; lush green trees towered over him, flowers bloomed in all colors and shapes, and birds were singing and fluttering around him. The weather was perfect as always, since Auralins were the ones who controlled it. The breeze was cool and soft, the sky clear with just the right amount of clouds. Bokuto hoped the day of The Feast would bear the same type of weather he was experiencing now. 

Ah, The Feast. He’d heard so much about it today but didn’t really stop to think about the event and what might take place during it all. It was, in fact, an extremely significant and huge thing. It took many, _many_ years for something like this to happen. The six clans were always separated, minding their own business and never disturbing the peace of the other five. This was probably the first time ever, for as far back as Bokuto could remember, that they were all coming together like this.

Bokuto would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited to meet more people of other clans. He already got to associate with them when he visited the other sectors during his deliveries, but now he’d be able to stay longer, hold a conversation with them, and be able to find out things from the people themselves. From what he knew with the fleeting meetings he’d had, he viewed the other clans as so:

Aquadians were determined and persistent, like the waves that kept beating at the earth. They could control water and also heal injuries with their abilities. 

Avalonians could control light and always sought knowledge, making sure they were bright both in personality and mentality. 

Féorians were the people of nature and earth, possessing the abilities to control any element of nature depending on their preference and skills. 

Incindions were the tough ones. Their temper matched their flames ,  and they were excellent fighters. Their battles were used as entertainment, and Bokuto was lucky enough to witness glimpses of one.

Auralins, Bokuto’s kind, were people of the wind. Their spirits were free and wild, and they were very quick on their feet, making them excellent Messengers.

Last but not least, there was the treacherous Tenebrarum. The poor souls who were seen as corrupted got sent down there, far away from Skelevar to prevent any destruction to the peace it held for many years. 

Before Bokuto could think more upon the history of Skelevar and its people, his horse suddenly came to a halt, almost throwing him off the saddle. 

“What the hell, you stupid beast!” Bokuto cried out, his hand flying to his heart. 

The horse reared and stomped on the ground, shaking its head from side to side. 

“What’s going on? Are you scared of something?” Bokuto wondered out loud, scanning the area to check if anyone else was there. Although the grass was tall, it wasn’t thick or so high that it could hide a person. Even so, he wanted to make sure he was alone, so he called out, “Who’s there?”

A twig snapped to his left, causing him to jerk his head. “Stay where you are!” he yelled, his eyes carefully watching the area. The grass began rustling really fast, stressing out the horse. It reared once more, a movement so fast and violent that Bokuto did end up falling off this time. 

There wasn't even any time to complain about the soreness he felt from the impact of hitting the dirt. The rustling got louder, and so did the beating of Bokuto’s heart. “I-I’m just a Messenger!” he shouted, his voice trembling slightly. “I’m not here to cause trouble, I just came to make a delivery!”

After he spoke, a small, wild cat popped out of a nearby bush and leapt over him, running in the other direction. Bokuto flinched when he felt a light scratch on his cheek, probably from the cat’s nail. It wasn’t as painful as he thought it would be though; it felt more like a paper cut, but he didn’t think too much of the source because it didn’t matter. The horse made a strange sound, and once the cat was out of sight, they both finally calmed down.

“It was just a cat?” Bokuto huffed, getting up. He placed a hand on the horse, keeping it steady. “I should’ve known…nobody is so wary to the point that they’d attack anyone suspicious to them.” 

The horse whinnied, and Bokuto pet its mane. He knew Akaashi had raised the horse well, but he guessed there weren’t other animals around that it would get used to, which would explain why it reacted so immensely over just a cat. 

Thinking of Akaashi made Bokuto’s heart spin in a strange manner, in a way that never happened around anyone else. He always thought it was something like excitement or joy but perhaps it was something more, something different. Maybe he…

No, he couldn’t think of such foolish thoughts. He had a job to focus on. He mounted the horse once more and took off, letting the breeze cool his burning skin and clear his thoughts.

Before long, night had fallen and the stars illuminated the darkness above. Bokuto had learned to read constellations, so judging by the positioning of the stars, he estimated that there were about twenty miles left before he reached Féora. The horse and newly discovered shortcut had saved him a lot of time; instead of taking two and a half days, he’d be able to make it in one and a half. Or at least that’s what he had concluded after pondering the thought of whether he should keep going or stop, and just to be safe and prevent himself from losing his way in the dark on this new route, he decided to stop here and resume his journey when the sun rose.

He dismounted from the horse after locating and stopping by a tree that was big enough to provide him shelter. He gave the horse some nearby hay and then pulled out the bread Akaashi had given him earlier today, eating a couple of slices as dinner. As the buttery taste filled his mouth, he thought of the moment when Akaashi had handed it to him. His hand had slightly brushed against the other’s, and although it was a quick exchange, he felt something spark between them. Oh how he wished he could spend time with Akaashi right about now…

He leaned his head against the bark of the tree and closed his eyes, the weight of exhaustion heavy on his eyelids. Sleep overtook him quickly as memories of him and Akaashi flowed like a gentle river in his mind. He didn’t even care about the uncomfortable position he was in, or at least not until an hour or so later when he woke up with a crick in his neck and a sore spine. 

Yawning and stretching his muscles, he got up and looked at the tree he’d been leaning on. He spotted a good, strong branch not too far up and climbed there, positioning himself in a comfortable manner and immediately falling asleep to the sound of rustling leaves.

~☆~

_Thud!_

“Oof,” Bokuto cried out, his eyes flying open. He realized with a start that he’d fallen out of the tree he was sleeping in. Slowly, he got up and rubbed at his eyes, waiting for his vision to clear before looking at the sky. He predicted it was just about two hours before sunrise. 

Realizing there’d be no use in trying to fall asleep again, he walked over to a nearby stream and washed his face, scrubbing out the sand in his eyes. He wished he could shower before delivering the letter, but there wasn’t a lot of time he could spare. It was still dark, but there was enough illumination for him to be able to see ahead of him.

With a sigh, he got on the horse and resumed his journey, determined to reach his destination before noon.

After about an hour or so, once the sun had risen, he spotted a small area of land dotted with white tents up ahead. He couldn’t see much from where he was, but he was curious of what kind of things he’d might find there. It was on the route to Féora anyway so he told himself that it’d be fine if he stopped just to check the place out.

When he got there, he immediately took in the scenery. In the little white tents there were mothers and maids, hanging up laundry or watching over their children. Outside, men were talking boisterously and tending to the small campfires burning near the tents.

The smell of roasting meat made Bokuto’s mouth water and stomach rumble. He had finished the bread slices given to him and had nothing to eat, so the temptation to ask for food was irresistible. 

As he began to approach the people there, he noticed that most of them were staring at him. Of course. He wasn’t a part of their territory, someone not of their kind, so he must’ve looked like some foreign object to them. He kept his head down and picked up his pace, his ears burning as he realized his hair was a mess, and his clothes dirty from the mud. His skin shone with sweat; he probably should’ve thought this through, but his stomach overtook his mind because of his hunger.

The women began muttering, and Bokuto could pick up what they were saying through the winds around them. They were talking about him, saying things he didn’t find very pleasant, so he took off in a dash, escaping them as fast as possible.

“What’s the rush, little Messenger boy?” someone called out. It was followed by laughter, making Bokuto wish he didn’t bother going near them. He decided to ignore their mocking and evade their line of sight. 

“Jeez, that was embarrassing,” he mumbled to himself when he was safely hidden on the path surrounded by trees. 

The horse neighed, whipping its head towards a nearby sign. Bokuto turned his attention to it, reading the message carved into the wood. It said something along the lines of how Féora was close, just about ten miles ahead. He’d never been so happy to read those words. Although he wasn’t a huge fan of their people and didn’t like delivering messages there too much, it at least meant that he’d be able to get his job done soon and return to see Akaashi before heading home. 

You see, Bokuto didn’t exactly have any disliking towards the Féorians. It was just that some of them were hung up about some rivalry that occurred a while ago, or maybe it was for another reason entirely. Whatever it was, Bokuto didn’t know about it. All he knew was that he wouldn’t get a warm welcome from everyone, considering what happened the last time he’d been there. He had just exited the castle after delivering a letter to their clan leaders, and while he was walking out, some of their people gave him weird stares and comments. Not a very pleasant memory, but he couldn’t let the first impression be the only one. 

Bokuto cleared five miles when he spotted another sign. In big letters and bright colors, it read, _FEAST DAY TODAY, WELCOMING ALL CLANS!_ Bokuto blinked in confusion, and then his mouth dropped. “What?!” he yelped, his eyes blown out wide. “Feast Day is today?! That means I have to get this letter delivered as soon as possible!” 

He looked ahead of him, past all the tall trees, and could faintly make out the Féorian Castle up ahead. It was a grand structure, made up of giant towers and massive doors as he recalled. 

Bokuto stared up at the sun now, examining its position. He could tell that it was almost eight in the morning. He had to deliver the letter by half past eight, so he didn’t have much time. Even with a horse, there was no way he could make it there that fast. 

“Damn it, how did this happen?” Bokuto whined, covering his eyes. Even after extensive planning and thinking he’d break his record, he wouldn’t be able to make it at the scheduled time. He thought all hope was lost until suddenly, an idea entered his mind. 

Not wasting a single second, he hopped off the horse and tied its reins to a nearby tree. “I’ll be back, don’t go anywhere.” 

The horse simply exhaled a huff of breath as Bokuto hustled a few feet away, holding his arms out in a practiced position. 

He concentrated hard, and within a few seconds, he was able to summon the wind. He pictured himself landing in front of the entrance gate, giving his mind a path to follow as he focused on maintaining the wind’s control. 

Slowly, the wind circled his ankles and pulled him up. He figured he couldn’t cause much disaster when the distance was not too great, so he was willing to take the risk. He was in the air now, which wasn’t the hard part. The difficult part was moving forward in the direction he wanted to go. 

With a sweep of his arms, Bokuto willed the wind to take him in the direction of the castle. However, he must’ve used a bit too much strength, because in a split second he found himself hurdling towards Féora at impossible speeds, the scenery around him a blur of brown and green. 

“AaaaaAGGGHH!” Bokuto screamed as the entrance gate approached too fast for him to even be able to process. “Stop, stop, stop, stop!” 

He tried to slow himself down, his hands shaking violently. He quickly thought of softness and low pressure, and after quite a bit of struggling, the wind calmed down at the very last second and dropped him back on to the ground where he stumbled to a landing on his feet. 

“Holy cow, I’m never trying that again,” Bokuto huffed out, realizing he was three feet away from becoming an Auralin Messenger boy pancake. On the bright side, he did make it in an incredibly short amount of time––it was only a few minutes before eight. 

Once he recovered from that frightening experience, he approached the gates that led into Féora. They were massive, towering up to almost fifty feet. In the center was the symbol of Féora, a triangle with a circle fitted in the middle. There was a leaf inside the circle, with dots decorating its tips. It was a beautiful and intricate design.

In front of him, someone cleared their throat, watching Bokuto carefully. Bokuto blinked in surprise, not realizing somebody was there. “Oh, sorry Sir, I’m, uh, here to deliver a message to someone in your sector!” 

The gatekeeper, as Bokuto recognized, considered him thoughtfully, but didn’t move to open the gate. Bokuto blinked at him, wondering why he wasn’t granted immediate entrance. 

He stared down at his uniform, seeing that it was completely filthy. He probably looked more like a servant than a Messenger. Hurriedly, he wiped the dirt off his crest and pulled out the letter itself, signed by the Four, and presented it to the gatekeeper.

To his surprise, he was granted entrance with just a simple once-over. He guessed it was because it was Feast Day, and many more people not belonging to Féora would be allowed to enter, so proper inspection of his credentials weren’t necessary. 

With a nod and a smile in thanks, Bokuto stepped inside when the gates opened. As soon as he walked a couple of feet, he was overcome by the scent of baked goods and sweat.

All around him, the area was bustling with life and energy. Little children ran around, chasing one another. Dogs and cats strolled through the streets, occasionally trying to grab some meat from an unsuspecting market man. The adults who were awake were outside tending to their gardens or cleaning up around the house, probably preparing themselves for the big event that was later in the day. In the middle of it all, there was a giant clock tower that chimed out the time. It made a sound as soon as Bokuto looked up at it, indicating that it was exactly eight o’clock, which meant he had less than thirty minutes to deliver the letter. 

Spitting out a few colorful words, Bokuto began sprinting through the streets towards the castle. He passed numerous shop tenders, pushing past all the people probably buying last minute ingredients to prepare a dish for The Feast. Shouts of protest sounded around him, but Bokuto couldn’t even pause to apologize. He continued moving forward, noticing that he was coming close to Féora’s one and only school building. From what he could remember, the school was about three streets south of the castle. 

With one swift movement he rounded a corner, when suddenly, someone crashed into him, nearly causing him to fall over. 

“Woah!” Bokuto yelped, steadying himself. He checked the letter in his hands to make sure it was undamaged, and thankfully, it was. He looked up after that and saw that books flew out everywhere, scattering around him. 

He switched his gaze to the person he had run into. His dark hair was a mess, similar to a bedhead-type look. He had dark brown eyes that were transparent behind his glasses, and they possessed some kind of hazy look. When he stood up and picked up his books, guilt immediately washed over Bokuto as he realized the boy was probably on his way to school.

“Holy shit dude, I’m so sorry!” Bokuto yelled as he noticed the boy inspecting him. His expressions had changed quite a bit in the few minutes he watched Bokuto––they went from intrigued to disgusted to displeased, and finally, to a softened one. 

Bokuto didn’t say anything. He really had to get going, but it would be rude to just crash into someone and take off, so he waited for a response.

“Hey, uh, sorry for crashing into you,” the boy finally said, causing Bokuto to look at him directly. “My name’s Kuroo.” He held his hand out, to which Bokuto took with a grin. 

Kuroo, as he now learned his name was, made a weird face, and Bokuto gave him a worried look. “Uh…you okay?” 

Kuroo was speechless for a moment, and then words started spilling out of his mouth, none of which Bokuto could comprehend. 

“…Huh?” was all Bokuto said, raising an eyebrow. He wanted to ask what was happening, but Kuroo spoke instead. 

“Sorry, uh, I’m just tired.”

Bokuto blinked, but then nodded sympathetically. He too was exhausted, and having school on a Saturday didn’t seem to be all that fun, especially not when it was Feast Day. “Okay. I’m Bokuto, by the way! Sorry for ruining your books!” He glanced at the muddy textbooks with a frown, rubbing the back of his head with the hand that wasn’t holding Kuroo’s. 

“Nah, don’t sweat it,” Kuroo said, to his relief. They slowly let go of each other’s hands, and Bokuto smiled. He liked this boy; he was way nicer than those other Féorians he met just before he got inside.

Bokuto decided he’d ask Kuroo for help to getting where he needed to go, because he didn’t have much time left and searching for the right path or a shortcut might cost him an overtime. “Hey hey hey, do you happen to know where the Féorian meeting hall is? I’m supposed to be taking a message to woman named…” he paused, trying to read the name scrawled onto the envelope. “…Fauna Daniels?” He flashed a smile at Kuroo, hoping it was something he could answer.

At the sight of his eyes lighting up, Bokuto knew he’d made the right choice. “Oh, I know her,” Kuroo said with a chuckle. He smiled at Bokuto, who had perked up immediately. His luck had been impeccable today. 

“You do?!”

“Yeah, she’s my mom.” 

Bokuto thanked his lucky stars as a smile stretched across his face. “Wow, lucky me then!! I’m glad I ran into you!”

Kuroo nodded, quickly yet clearly giving him directions. Bokuto listened carefully, picturing the paths and shortcuts Kuroo was mentioning. It didn’t seem to lead to the castle, but rather somewhere else, so he guessed she was still at home and that’s where Kuroo was directing him to.

As soon as the route was clear in his head, Bokuto dashed off, wishing he could stay longer and chat but knew it wasn’t the right time for either of them. “See you at The Feast!” he shouted over his shoulder, really hoping he’d be able to see Kuroo again.

Bokuto looked up at the clock tower, realizing he had only five minutes to deliver the letter. Picking up his speed, he breezed through the paths leading to a small community, where he finally reached the place Kuroo had pointed out for him. He lifted a hand to knock on the door, but it opened before he could do so. A short woman stumbled out, carrying a stack of boxes that nearly towered above her head.

“Greetings to you, ma’am,” Bokuto began, stepping out of her way. 

The woman let out a small gasp and set the boxes down, smoothing out her dress. “O-oh, hello! What brings you to my home?”

“I am Bokuto Koutarou, the Council of Six’s personal Messenger. I came here from Auralin, the Kingdom of the Sky, to deliver a letter.” He smiled, holding out the file in his hands. “You are Mrs. Fauna Daniels, correct?”

“Yes, dear,” the woman answered, reflecting his smile. “You seem like you’ve come a long way. You must stay for The Feast!”

“I plan on it,” Bokuto answered. “I don’t think I can make it to my home and back here in time, so I’ll have to figure out a way to get settled here for a while and get prepared for the event.” 

“I can arrange for you to get a room in the castle,” Fauna said, causing Bokuto’s eyes to sparkle. “You can bathe, get some rest, and even have a little snack. I’ll send a butler to to help you get ready as well.”

“Th-Thank you, ma’am!” Bokuto said shakily, barely able to contain his euphoria. “You are very kind!”

Fauna nodded, keeping the smile on her face. “May I have the letter now, please?”

“O-oh yes, excuse me!” Bokuto said sheepishly, realizing he’d forgotten to hand it to her. “I want to apologize for being late, the distance was quite far and I had to take a new route. I am really sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Nonsense,” Fauna said, taking the letter once he’d held it out in front of her. She opened it in front of him, her face lighting up in delight. “Ah, the seating diagrams and attendance records have arrived!” 

_So that’s what the letter said, interesting,_ Bokuto thought. 

“Bokuto, was it?” Fauna called, looking at him. 

Bokuto fixed his posture, meeting her eyes. “Yes, that’s me.”

“Can you do me a favor? If you can bring these boxes to the castle, it would be a huge help. Once all the boxes get there, you are free to do as you please.”

Bokuto considered it for a moment. He was already tired from the journey, but he did want to repay the woman for the room she was offering him in the castle. Plus, he had to head over to the castle either way, so carrying a few boxes wasn’t that big of deal. “Sure thing! I’ll have them transported there in a jiffy.”

“Oh, thank you so much! But I do have to warn you, there’s quite a lot.” 

“I can handle it, no problem,” Bokuto stated with a grin. 

Fauna led him into her house, and Bokuto promptly followed. The room they entered looked nice, and quite different from his own. He wanted to check out the whole place, to compare and contrast the styles of Féorian and Auralin households, but after walking into the main area outside of the small room that was just by the entrance, there was not a single clear spot in sight. Decorations of all kinds were scattered everywhere, covering every inch of the house. Bokuto had never seen so many things in one place at once.

“Woah,” he said with a gasp, scanning the area.

“It’s…quite a mess, I know,” Fauna apologized. “But I need all of this to be sent to the castle.”

“I think you chose the perfect person for this job,” Bokuto said with a grin, cracking his knuckles, not too phased by the clutter. “Leave it to me.”

Fauna stood there, watching him carefully in surprise.

Bokuto may not have much control over the wind when it came to moving himself, but he was pretty good at it with lighter items, such at these boxes and decorations. 

He focused on each item carefully, channeling his energy into his hands. The front door hit the wall lightly as strong winds entered the house. Bokuto maneuvered his hands around, letting the wind pick up everything Fauna needed transported.

Fauna watched in amazement, unable to peel her eyes away. 

It took a couple of seconds, but Bokuto had all the items in the air as if they were hanging by some invisible threads from the ceiling. 

“Is this everything?” Bokuto huffed out, trying to balance his energy so he didn’t overexert himself with all the items that were being carried.

“Yes, please be careful!” Fauna said, clearly impressed yet still worried. 

“I’ll see you at the castle, then!” Bokuto said, stepping outside. The boxes followed suit, floating behind him. 

“I’ll have a butler waiting for you when you arrive! He’ll take you to the room you’ll be staying in!” Fauna shouted as Bokuto was about to head out. 

Bokuto nodded in her direction, and without waiting another second, dashed forward, making his way towards the Féorian Castle. 

It didn’t take long for him to arrive. Although trying to control the wind and keep the items stable slowed him down a bit, he was still able to reach his destination in less than a half hour. The guard at the gate checked Bokuto’s crest very quickly, not wanting to waste too much time inspecting after seeing the mass amount of items Bokuto was carrying. 

Once Bokuto was granted entrance, he ran into the castle until he was out of breath, finding himself in a massive room. He supposed this was the meeting hall, considering how large it was. Even if it wasn’t, it didn’t matter too much, because Fauna had just told him she needed the items there without giving him a specific location. 

He carefully lowered his arms, commanding the wind to set down the items. The room he was in was so big that when he set down all the boxes and things, it only took up a fragment of the whole place. 

“Phew, I’m gonna need like a week of sleep after that,” Bokuto said, stretching his arms. He fell back against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the plush rug laid out on the floor. He might’ve dirtied the wall and floor with that, but he was too tired to think much of it. 

As he was about to close his eyes, he saw someone approach him, calling his name. 

“Master Bokuto Koutarou?” the voice said, causing Bokuto’s eyes to fly open fully. 

“That’s me!” Bokuto exclaimed, standing up as fast as lightning. He came face to face with a man in a suit, and assumed it was the butler Fauna promised she’d send. “I apologize for that, you see, I was really tired—“

“No need for apologies,” he told him with a gentle smile. “Mistress Daniels asked me to take you to your room and provide whatever you may need, since you have come from very far.” 

“Oh…right. My own space would be really nice right about now,” Bokuto said, his face flushed. “Lead the way.”

The butler nodded, walking through the intricate hallways and into the area where the guest bedrooms were located. Bokuto followed him, checking out all the different rooms. The butler stopped at one with a gold square embedded onto it, plucking out a key from his pocket. 

Once the butler opened the door for him, Bokuto practically leapt inside, finally glad to have a place to rest. He looked around a bit, wondering what kind of things were provided for him here. There was a large, soft bed in the center. A round side table sat beside it, holding a jug of water. A vanity table sat across from the bed on the opposite wall, a giant mirror fixated above it. An intricately crafted dresser was pushed against the side wall, and there was a small window beside it.

As Bokuto continued looking around, the butler excused himself from the room, saying he’d be back in about an hour or so. 

Bokuto didn’t bother listening to him. He didn’t realize how thirsty he was until all his senses blurred out to focus on the water on the bedside table. He ran towards it and gulped down half the water in the jug, panting after it all washed down into his system. 

Taking a deep breath, Bokuto took a moment to stare at his reflection. He really did look absolutely filthy. His uniform had mud marks streaked all over it, and dried leaves clung to the velcro on his pants. His hair was disheveled, and slight scratches decorated his cheeks. His bones also ached, probably from all the running and falling. 

What he needed now was a good, long, relaxing bath.

Bokuto spotted a doorway on the other side of the room that led to the bathroom. He threw open the door, taking a quick glance around. In the corner on a delicate wooden stand were assorted shampoos, bath bombs, conditioners, and all other kinds of hair and bath products. The bathtub was ginormous and had a mud bath option, something that Bokuto was curious to try but didn’t because he didn’t want any more mud on him for the day. 

He turned on the regular water setting and filled the tub. He grabbed a bottle of bubble bath and poured it in, watching as bubbles clumped around above the water. With a satisfying sigh, he stripped off his dirty clothes and sat in the hot water, letting himself soak into serenity. 

His muscles were sore from landing on the ground quite a few times, so the warmth really helped soothe the pain. The soap he used to scrub the dirt off of him smelled like fresh pine leaves, and it filled his nose with a pleasant aroma. The people of nature really did know how to make wonderfully smelling products, Bokuto thought.

Bokuto wished to stay in the tub longer, but he was extremely tired and didn’t want to end up falling asleep in the water. Carefully, he grabbed a towel, dried himself, and stepped onto the bathmat as the water drained out of the tub. He’d forgotten that he didn’t bring any spare clothes, so he took a bathrobe hanging on a rack above the closet and put it on, exiting the bathroom with a yawn.

The bed looked extra, extra comfy to his weary eyes. In a flash, he climbed into the bed and dozed off, letting sleep overtake him.

~☆~

“Excuse me? Wake up, please, Master.”

Bokuto’s eyes fluttered open as a deep voice filled his ears. Dreams of food, Akaashi, and horses slipped away as reality awoke him. With a groan, he sat up, rubbing at his eyes. His hair was still wet, sticking to his skin in small clumps. Once his vision cleared and most of the sleep was out of his eyes, he noticed the butler from before standing beside him, holding a tray of food.

“What do you want?” Bokuto asked tiredly. “Let me sleep…I literally travelled one hundred miles to get here.” 

“Apologies, Master, but The Feast is going to begin shortly. I was sent to get you prepared.”

Hearing about The Feast got Bokuto’s brain going again. He remembered he was in Féora, sleeping in their castle. The nice woman he delivered the letter to gave him access to this, and he couldn’t be selfish about it. 

“I’m so sorry, I was just so overcome with sle––“

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Master,” the butler cut in. “I see you’ve bathed. I’ve prepared a small meal for you to have while I go get you an assortment of suits.”

“Ah, thanks…” Bokuto said, rubbing the back of his head. He felt as if he were royalty, being treated the way he was now. He was also surprised at how nice this man was being to him, considering that most people in Féora didn’t like Auralins. 

The butler nodded and left the room, probably getting the suits he mentioned.

With a sigh, Bokuto got out of bed and took the plate of food left for him on the bedside table. In all the chaos that had occurred, he’d forgotten he hadn’t had a chance to eat. His stomach rumbled wildly, startling him. He scarfed down the food until there wasn’t even a single crumb left, and just in time too. 

The butler returned with an entire rack of suits of all colors, presenting them in front of Bokuto. 

“Here are the suits we have in your size,” said the butler. “Take your pick.”

To be honest, Bokuto didn’t care too much for style. He just wanted something, so he pointed to a grayish-silver suit, one that matched his eyes. “I’ll have that one.”

The butler gave him a questioning look, but handed it to him anyway. He also gave him a package of undergarments, which Bokuto took with gratitude. 

Bokuto went into the bathroom and got dressed quickly, surprised at how well the suit fit him as if it were made for him. He never wore something so fancy before; he wore his uniform all the time except on his off-days, when he wore a casual outfit. 

As he adjusted his collar, faint voices came through the walls, drawing his attention. One of them sounded like a voice he’d heard before, but he couldn’t say who it was for sure. There was another voice as well— deeper, and more rough. The familiar-sounding voice was going on about agreeing on something, and the other voice was trying to keep him quiet, saying something along the lines of a time period of talking. It made no sense to Bokuto, so he shrugged it off, reaching to open the door of the bathroom.

“Master, you look very handsome!” the butler remarked as soon as Bokuto came out.

Bokuto laughed in pride, putting his hands on his hips with a grin. 

The butler smiled. “Allow me to do your hair now, Master. What style would you prefer?”

“My usual, if you don’t mind. Spiked up with gel,” Bokuto replied, taking a seat at the vanity table and facing the mirror. His hair was only down at nighttime, so seeing it down now gave him a chance to see it more clearly. He kind of liked the look.

The butler began working on his hair, and Bokuto took the time to close his eyes and think. He envisioned how The Feast would turn out, how he’d get to see Akaashi, and hopefully make some new friends. He also wanted to talk to Kuroo and get to know him more.

As the cold gel was pushed into his hair, Bokuto wondered how things would play out once he got outside into the main hall. He could have his head in his clouds as much as he wanted, but reality didn’t match his fantasies. Things could end up a disaster, people might not get along, and fights would ensue. That would disturb the peace Skelevar had for so long.

Bokuto shook his head frantically, trying to shake the thoughts out of his head. He had forgotten that his hair was being worked on, so his heart skipped a beat when the butler let out a confused yell. 

“Master, please stay still!” he cried, wiping stray gel off his clothes.

“Sorry!” Bokuto apologized, his eyes popping open. “And please just call me Bokuto, I’m no one’s master.” He figured he should’ve said that earlier, but the thought didn’t occur to him until now. 

“Yes…Bokuto. I’ll let your hair sit there for a few minutes to solidify its shape.”

“Thank you,” Bokuto said with a smile. “You have to get ready too, don’t you? I can take care of the rest on my own.” 

“Yes, it was an honor to serve you. I shall get going now.”

Bokuto nodded, and just as the butler turned around to leave, he stopped, causing Bokuto to turn towards him. “Uh…something the matter?”

“Ma— I mean, Bokuto. I wanted to ask you something. Two things, actually.”

Bokuto didn’t know what he wanted to ask about, but he could understand why he’d want to question him. After all, it was probably his first time interacting with someone from a clan different from his own. “Sure, what is it?”

“First, I want to say I am intrigued by your earrings. Are they from your parents? Your…family indicator?”

Bokuto’s hands went up to his ears, and he pressed the metallic object between his fingers. The earrings, shaped as owls and embedded with a special stone, were indeed a gift from his parents. He didn’t answer verbally, just with a simple nod.

“I see,” the butler said, considering it thoughtfully. “Also, I have washed your uniform as you were asleep, and a photograph or drawing of some sort fell out of the pocket.” He plucked it out from a small envelope and placed it on the table.

“Oh, that’s…” Bokuto started, staring at the image. He hadn’t looked at it in a while.

“If you don’t mind, may I ask who the picture is of?” the butler’s voice was demanding yet gentle at the same time.

“It’s my family,” Bokuto said, standing up. “I keep it with me because I’m a Messenger, and since I travel a lot, I don’t get to be home as much as I’d like.” His deadpan expression switched to a more sorrowful one. “Not that it really matters, because both my parents died when I was very young.”

“Goodness, I’m so sorry,” the butler exclaimed, not aware that he had brought up a sensitive topic. “Why do you carry such a painful reminder?”

“Well, it gives me hope,” Bokuto said, his eyes shining. “Even though they’re not my real parents, they gave me a lot, and I want to make them proud. I’m not mourning, and of course I get a little sad when I remember them, but I won’t burst into tears or anything.” He smiled, trying to make it as reassuring as possible. 

“I admire your strength,” the butler acknowledged with a nod. “I must thank you for answering my questions, and apologize if it was a topic you did not wish to discuss. However, I must be heading on over to prepare for The Feast now, so if you’ll excuse me.”

Bokuto nodded, and the butler left his room for the last time, closing the door behind him. 

Once he was gone, Bokuto picked up the image and sat on the bed, examining it. The picture was drawn by Akaashi, and Bokuto could never stop being impressed with the beautiful, rich strokes. His parents’ faces were drawn in detail, their smiles as bright as he could remember. He smoothed his thumb over it, being careful not to smudge the lead, and reminisced about all the times he shared with them. 

Sometimes Bokuto wondered why he never mourned their deaths or felt as sad as he thought he should. He was very close to his parents, and although they were different in many ways, they were able to work together harmoniously to raise him. It struck him as weird, why their deaths didn’t have as big of an effect as he thought, but he couldn’t put much thought into it. Not now, at least, because the sound of a gong rang through the air, alerting him. That must’ve been the signal that indicated that The Feast was about to begin. 

Taking a deep, slow, breath, Bokuto stepped out into the hallway, his heart beating a little faster than usual in his ribcage. He peeked down the hall, where he saw two figures sprinting; one in a royal robe who was farther ahead, another in a casual suit with messy hair. He blinked, wondering why they were in such a hurry, but then realized they probably had important things to attend to in the meeting hall. 

Bokuto followed the noise of all the people coming in, maneuvering through the twisty hallways. It was seriously like a labyrinth in here, and without all the noise, he probably would’ve gotten lost. Conveniently, when he finally reached the entrance to the meeting hall, his people were coming in, so he joined them, following suit. 

As he strode through the giant doors of the meeting hall, he spotted the boy he crashed into earlier in the day. Bokuto tried catching his eye and smiling at him, but Kuroo was pushed against the wall due to the massive flow of people entering and didn’t see Bokuto. 

Bokuto figured he’d talk to him later, most likely when the eating portion of the event began. Kuroo looked exhausted anyway, so talking to him now wouldn’t be the best idea. 

He continued following his people into the giant hall, which was beautifully decorated by none other than Fauna. Around him, he could see all the people of the other clans. The Féorians, Avalonians, and Incindions were already seated, waiting for the opening ceremony to begin. Bokuto took his assigned seat with his clan by the windows, located on the far left side of the room. 

The Aquadians were the last to enter, and once they were seated, the Council of Six arrived. They came in through a different entrance than the members of the clans, one that would lead directly to the stage where they'd be seated. The whole process was pretty slow; they were quite old, so getting up to where they needed to be took some time. Bokuto thought of waving to them, but knew it wouldn’t be very professional, so he just watched as they made their way to their seats, his eyes sparkling in admiration. 

Their table was on a stage at the front of the meeting hall, one so grand that it could probably seat sixty people instead of just six. The Council members took their respective seats at last, and their apprentices stood behind them. 

Once everything was in place, the speeches began. Bokuto groaned to himself, holding his head in his hands. He knew this would be the most tedious and boring part of the event. As he sat through them, he noticed that the children from each of the clans were getting squirmy, and he had to admit that he was too. He was hungry, and the food laid out on the back table was extremely tempting. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the speeches ended, — for now, at least — marked by Féora’s clan leader dismissing everyone for food. 

Bokuto leapt up from his seat, rushing to the table with all the food. He grabbed one of each item in a flash, overfilling his plate. He stuffed his face with assorted meat and rice, his stomach happily accepting all the food. 

_This is nice,_ he thought, swallowing a piece of well-cooked fish. _After I finish eating, I’m gonna go look for Akaashi, and then Kuroo. And afterwards, I’ll meet and talk to some new people._

Excitement ran up his spine, sending chills through his body. He was really enjoying this. The drinks were fresh and nice, the food was excellent, and the atmosphere was calm. People weren’t as eager or upfront about talking with members of other clans, but Bokuto knew they just needed time. After all, it was the first time they were all together like this, so it made sense that they weren’t all friendly right away. 

Bokuto reached towards the table of food for a final, third helping when suddenly, The One stood up. _Oh great, another speech,_ Bokuto thought, frowning slightly, not realizing something else was at play here. 

As Bokuto got a better look at The One, he realized he wasn’t standing up to give a speech. The One was grabbing at his throat, and had some strange expression in his eyes that Bokuto had never seen before in his life. His plate nearly dropped from his hands as he blinked rapidly, trying to make sure what he was seeing was real and not some sort of horror movie.

The Two, who was seated closest to The One, stood up so fast that the chair he was sitting on flew back and hit the wall. He grabbed the goblet The One drank out of, staring at it with his eyes blown out wide. The One collapsed beside him, and The Two’s face turned several colors as his eyes turned to the crowd, bearing another inexplicable expression. 

“The One has been poisoned!” he yelled, almost frozen in place. 

Bokuto felt the food he ate flipping his stomach, and suddenly, his appetite was completely gone. 

The world blurred around him, and he barely noticed all the doctors running towards the Council table to help cure The One. But Bokuto knew they were too late, because the thread connecting him and The One had been cut, and he felt through their bond that The One was no longer alive. 

A scream pierced his ears then, but Bokuto was too frozen in shock to notice or care. Thoughts raced in his mind as tears filled his eyes. _Crying,_ he thought. _So this is what it feels like._

Everyone around him was as still as he was, probably all thinking the same thing: _who was responsible for this treason?_

Bokuto had never felt so helpless in his life. He didn’t know what to do, who to blame, or what to think. He didn’t even know if what was happening now was even real. He hoped there was just some sort of drug in the food he ate, because nothing like this happened before, _ever_. So how could it happen now?

A feeling of dizziness washed over him, and he had to hold on to the wall to steady himself. People began shouting, some running, and others frozen in panic like he was. As Bokuto stared ahead at the lifeless body of The One, he caught someone in his peripheral vision standing up at the podium, holding up a vial of black liquid. 

To Bokuto’s shock, it was Hatredes, and what he said made his heart stop.

“I have poisoned your beloved One,” he’d said, and Bokuto felt something—darkness— swallow him whole. 

As Bokuto was lost in the void of his own thoughts and feelings, sending him spiraling into oblivion, he remembered meeting Hatredes for the first time. He was a strange man, nothing like The One, but still chosen to be his apprentice. Bokuto didn’t know too much about Hatredes because he was very secretive, but all in all, he believed Hatredes to be a good replacement for when The One died. The only thing he hadn’t known was how soon The One’s death would actually be. And to make it worse, it wasn’t even natural, it was _deliberate_.

When someone rammed into his shoulder and sent him crashing to the ground, Bokuto finally snapped back into reality. His eyes turned to Hatredes, who was doing some sort of strange thing with his arm. He raised it high, and without warning, dark, giant beasts emerged from the ground, causing Bokuto to let out a horrified gasp. 

At that moment, everything was exploding with movement. People ran in all directions, screaming and scurrying as fast as they could. Guards tried to face the monsters, but were defeated easily. It was no surprise, considering they’d never actually fought anyone or anything before, let alone these giant demonic beasts. 

Bokuto stared and stared, unable to move from paralysis. A guard ran towards him and pointed towards the gates, yelling at him to flee. But Bokuto was rooted to the spot. He glanced around, trying to see what exactly was happening. 

The monsters that had come out of nowhere let out bloodcurdling roars. They spread out and took down innocent people one by one, including the butler that had helped Bokuto just a few hours ago. A monster had pinned the butler down and torn his head off, and Bokuto felt his own heart rip. He looked away quickly, unable to bear the sight. 

On the other side, he spotted Aquadia’s clan leaders and their prince attempting to fight a monster with their water abilities. Their attacks killed some of the smaller creatures, and in that moment, Bokuto knew he couldn’t just sit there doing nothing any longer.

Standing up shakily, he tried to ignore the sounds of slime-spitting, decapitation, and blood spurting. The whole place carried a terrible stench, but most of Bokuto’s senses had been numbed in that moment so he didn’t notice. 

He couldn’t let any more of this happen. He raised his arms in the air, pointing at the dark clouds that appeared shortly after Hatredes had done what he did. With a harsh pull and swing of his arms, Bokuto made it rain. He hoped it would mask the remaining people’s scents so the monsters wouldn’t find them as easily. He couldn’t think of anything else to do, because his emotions were too unstable to properly control the wind and put it to any use.

Knowing he’d at least done one thing to help, Bokuto sprinted away with the rest of the people who managed to make it out to the gate. Tears streamed down his face as one person’s name entered his mind: Akaashi. Bokuto prayed with all his heart that he was okay, that he was one of the people who had escaped and made it back to his farm. Or, even better, he hadn't been able to make it to The Feast at all and was safely in his home sleeping.

Bokuto had to warn him and get him out of there as fast as possible. He ran back to where he’d left the horse, thankful that it was still there. He mounted it fast and took off, trying to block out the sounds of screaming and slicing. He reassured himself that the soldiers would win, because even though they hadn’t experienced a real battle, they could at least stop a bunch of stupid monsters, right? And things won’t get any worse, will they? The soldiers will contain the threat and Skelevar would go back to the peace it always held, because good always beat evil, didn’t it?

Yeah, right. Like he had any idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> new year, more motivation. im gonna try my best to get as many chapters out as possible, but it takes a while bc correlating everything takes a lot of planning. can't wait to finish these pov chapters so i can move on to the plot afterwards, but hopefully this was a good refresher.

**Author's Note:**

> Just wanted to explain everything here so you have an idea of the clans throughout the story!


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